We have received some of our overwintering pupae from Albany, California. Since the weather has started to show signs of warming starting last Monday (not linearly but, on average, slowly but surely increasing) we had most of our pupae that were being kept refrigerated at our home in Albany, California sent to us which we received today. The pupae are, for the most part, in good condition. One Papilio eurymedon and one or two Smerinthus opthalmica dried out, several Manduca sexta seem to be rotting (may be disease as many of the last instar larvae of this brood died from disease), and a few lunas (Actias luna) are evidently dead (brood generally undersized and unhealthy). Surprisingly, all of the regals (Citheronia regalis) are alive. We can't quite tell with the cecropia (Hyalophora cecropia) at the moment since their cocoons are thick, but they seem more or less okay. All of the eastern festoons (Allancastria cerisyi) are alive. We did not have sent the rutulus (P. rutulus) for fear that they might eclose too early or in shipment, anise (P. zelicaon) because the umbels (Apiaceae) here have not grown out yet, or pipevines (Battus philenor hirsuta) because there is no pipevine (Aristolochia) here. The trees are just starting to leaf out, so the hope is that by the time that we eventually might obtain eggs from the pupae that we did receive, all of the food plants will be ready to use. For the native species, such as the cecropia and luna, we are also hoping that by taking them out of cold storage around the same time that the local weather is warming should help ensure that they eclose in sync with the local populations for the purpose of outbreeding with wild males. ![]() Brian Liang Brian Liang is a student at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York pursuing an undergraduate degree in entomology. He is co-owner and a main contributor of the Liang Insects blog, insects articles, and site design.
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Timeline 2017–present
Ithaca, New York This timeline is a series of daily posts recording our observations and experiences with various insects (primarily Lepidoptera) around the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York, starting from the time we moved here in 2017. As this is a personal blog, we try to keep collections/rearings for university research and course work to a minimum, and mainly focus on just the species we catch and raise for our own fun and interest. Posts prior to this time can be viewed at Timeline 2012-2017: Albany, California, though there is occasionally some crossover when we have returned home during breaks or reared stock derived from home (see Albany, California Updates). Archives (232)
July 2020 (1) August 2019 (2) July 2019 (35) June 2019 (46) May 2019 (20) March 2019 (1) January 2019 (1) November 2018* October 2018* September 2018 (1)* August 2018 (9)* July 2018 (11)* June 2018 (22*) May 2018 (18)* April 2018 (2)* January 2018 (6) December 2017 (5) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (5) September 2017 (26) August 2017 (19) *Currently, a significant portion of 2018 posts are missing. The notes/photos for this time period are saved on our personal files but the posts were never built due to a busy schedule that year. We are still actively building these posts when we have the time. Authors
![]() ![]() Full Species List
(Alphabetical by scientific name) Note: - Not every species we encounter is necessarily presented on this site, rather a selection of those that were of particular interest to us and that we felt were worth documenting. - We can't guarantee that all species have been identified accurately, particularly taxa we are not as familiar with. Lepidoptera Actias luna Agraulis vanillae Allancastria cerisyi Amphion floridensis Ancyloxypha numintor Antheraea polyphemus Battus philenor hirsuta Callosamia promethea Colias eurytheme Citheronia regalis Cupido comyntas Danaus plexippus Darapsa myron Diadema inscriptum Epargyreus clarus Erynnis baptisiae Estigmene acrea Euchaetes egle Eumorpha pandorus Hemaris diffinis Hyalophora cecropia Limenitis archippus Liminitis arthemis arthemis Limenitis arthemis astyanax Manduca sexta Orgyia leucostigma Pachysphinx modesta Paonias myops Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio glaucus Papilio polyxenes asterius Papilio rutulus Papilio troilus Papilio zelicaon Pyrgus communis Samia ricini Smerinthus ophthalmica Speyeria cybele Sphecodina abbottii Vanessa atalanta Vanessa cardui Vanessa virginiensis Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Conocephalus sp. Dissosteira carolina Melanoplus femurrubrum Neoconocephalus ensiger Neoxabea bipunctata Phasmatodea Carausius morosus Diapheromera femorata Mantodea Mantis religiosa Albany, California Updates |