Back in Albany, our Carolina sphinx moths (Manduca sexta) have begun to eclose. Stock originated as eggs, June 2017. We had all but forgotten about our Manduca pupae after coming to Ithaca, so we were caught off guard when we received reports today that one of them has already eclosed. We were actually aware, though, that they would eclose sometime now; in the last few days before we left when we checked on them one last time and realized that some of them were already showing signs of development (such as darkening of the eye and solidification of the wing pads). These pupated between July 27 and August 7, so the timing is reasonable too. In hindsight, we should have tried to get these all to diapause given the inconvenience of having them eclose 10,000 miles away so close to the end of the season, especially because our tomato plants are on their last leg. With this species, it probably would have also been very easy to accomplish this with a simple photoperiod trick. Ultimately, the biggest loss with having them emerge now though is that we don't get to see them. We have little experience with this group of sphinx, so it would have been a very valuable opportunity to learn how to feed and breed them and become familiar with their behavior. Because they are such a common laboratory reared species, we assume that they are easy to pair and lay eggs, so for now we have asked our mother to hold off on pinning them all and to leave a few to try to breed. Hopefully we will still be able to gain some insight on the subject when she reports back over the next few days. ![]() Authors Brian Liang
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
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 |