Rearing notes for western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) pupae. Stock originated from a single pairing between reared female and wild male in Albany, California, Summer 2017; currently in third generation. ![]() May 29
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![]() 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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We have taken pupae of Papilio glaucus, Papilio rutulus, and Papilio zelicaon, and cocoons of Hyalophora cecropia and Callosamia promethea out of the refrigerator to break diapause as the growing season begins. Earlier in January of this year, we put all of our pupae from last summer's rearings in the refrigerator at 5° C for them to overwinter. Now that the weather is becoming consistently warm (20+ °C) and the leaves beginning, we decided to some of the species out to break diapause. The three swallowtail species, Papilio glaucus, Papilio rutulus, and Papilio zelicaon, we initially took out on 5/1 to let them acclimate to room temperature. All of the glaucus and rutulus pupae appeared to be alive and most of the zelicaon appeared to be alive. Then on 5/3, we took them to the climate chamber (27 °C, 75% humidity) to aid in breaking diapausing. Pupae from each species were hung upside down in three seperate mesh pop up cages for eclosion. We expect them to eclose relatively quickly within the next few weeks and intend on hand-pairing them to obtain eggs. The other two species taken out on 5/1 were cocoons of Hyalophora cecropia and Callosamia promethea. We assume most of the cecropia cocoons are alive just based on how they "feel" when rattled, though for sure a few must be dead based on a foul smell coming off of them; all four promethea cocoons are definitely alive. We placed the cocoons at the bottom of a mesh pop up cage on moist paper towel at room temperature. We expect these to eclose near the end of this month (in three to four weeks), when we assume the flight of the wild population of each species would normally begin based on reported sightings in New York and when we encountered wild individuals last year (wild males called in by captive females late May for cecropia and a wild cocoon that eclosed early May for promethea). We intend to set out females of these two species outside to call in wild males to obtain eggs for this year's generation. ![]() Alan Liang Alan 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 and photographs. Upon returning to Ithaca after Winter Break, we placed the pupae from last summer in the refrigerator to overwinter. After a chaotic week of flight delays due to snow storms on the East Coast, we have finally made our way from California back to Ithaca. Since a sustained period of cold is necessary for most diapausing pupae to break diapause in the spring, we placed two airtight plastic boxes full of pupae from our last summer's rearings into the refrigerator, set to 5° C. Ideally we would have done this much earlier (probably in October when it starts getting chilly outside), but since the dorms require us to unplug refrigerators over Winter Break, we decided to wait until after we came back. Hopefully, the 3-4 months in the refrigerator will be sufficient enough for the pupae to undergo a normal diapause (assuming we take them out in May). The species overwintering are as follows (locality/date stock originated): Papilio glaucus (New York 2018), Papilio rutulus (California 2017), Papilio zelicaon (California 2017), Hyalophora cecropia (New York 2016), Callosamia promethea (New York 2018), Antheraea polyphemus (New York 2018), Darapsa myron (New York 2018), Hemaris diffinis (New York 2018), and Paonias myops (New York 2018). Also included were our batch of northern walkingstick (Diapheromera femorata) eggs from last fall. We are unsure of the conditions required for these eggs to undergo normal diapause and break it, but assume it follows the same principle as lepidopteran pupae. Alas, the list of pupae is much shorter than we had hoped, since many of the species we reared last summer never entered diapaused and the stock was lost (Papilio troilus, Papilio cresphontes, Actias luna, Pachysphinx modesta, Eumorpha pandora, to name a few...). Nonetheless, we are grateful for the species that did make it and look forward to rearing them again this summer. ![]() Alan Liang Alan 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 and photographs. Rearing notes for western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Stock originated from a single pairing between reared female and wild male in Albany, California, Summer 2017; currently in second generation. ![]() July 26
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![]() 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. Rearing notes for western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Stock originated from a single pairing between reared female and wild male in Albany, California, Summer 2017; currently in second generation. ![]() July 12
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![]() 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. Rearing notes for western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Stock originated from a single pairing between reared female and wild male in Albany, California, Summer 2017; currently in second generation ![]() July 4
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![]() 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. Rearing notes for western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Stock originated from a single pairing between reared female and wild male in Albany, California, Summer 2017; currently in second generation ![]() June 30
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![]() 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. Rearing notes for western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Stock originated from a single pairing between reared female and wild male in Albany, California, Summer 2017; currently in second generation ![]() June 27
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![]() 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. Rearing notes for western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus). Stock originated from a single pairing between reared female and wild male in Albany, California, Summer 2017; currently in second generation ![]() June 24
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![]() 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. Some of the western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) eggs we obtained from second generation hand-pairings have hatched. Stock originated from a single pairing between reared female and wild male in Albany, California, Summer 2017. This post discusses the state of this stock line. This is the sixth day since the first eggs were laid by one or both of the rutulus (Papilio rutulus) females we hand-paired using a climate chamber, popup cage, and willow (Salix) cuttings. Sixteen of what was originally about 90 of these eggs hatched today. A few of the newborns are shown below, some having already fed on fresh willow in water tubes. We plan to rear them in aluminum foil pie pans, which are roomy and much cheaper than plastic containers of the same size, with paper towels to suck up moisture and promote better ventilation. We are unsure whether we should be excited or disappointed at this initial turnout. Over the course of their development, an alarming percentage of the eggs dessicated and collapsed. Virtually all of the eggs that had fallen off the willow leaves or were never laid there in the first place dessicated and many of the eggs that developed to the black stage did not hatch. At one point, it seemed doubtful that any sort of substantial amount would hatch at all but 16 is not a bad start. The reason behind the poor hatch rate is unknown. For one, it is uncertain whether desiccation caused the death of the egg or if the eggs died for another reason and then dessicated. The detached eggs likely dessicated but at the same time, eggs that are attached to plant material can also be prone to dessication because the dried leaf material can draw water out of the egg. The death of the misshapen eggs is not too surprising either, but it is strange that there would be these misshapen eggs in the first place. We have never seen anything like this in the wild or in our own breeding of swallowtails. The deformity probably comes as a result of the egg being laid sideways and not setting correctly as a result when the shell is still soft. Granted, it is quite strange that the butterflies would lay the eggs sideways, even if the cuttings were awkwardly positioned. The degradation of the plant material with the eggs could have also caused harm by way of certain microbial organisms. But perhaps one of the most likely causes of egg mortality could have been excessive heat. We did not remove the eggs until a day or two after they were laid in the climate chamber, which could approach 29°C. Outside the climate chamber, indoor temperatures are also quite high. Swallowtail eggs, which have delicate translucent shells, are extremely sensitive to heat, especially when not protected by living plant material. Even if eggs develop, by the time the larva is ready to crawl out, it may be too weak due to loss of body fluid and resources to hatch properly, analogous to dead adult in pupae syndrome. On the bright side, we do have 16 healthy neonates and it does look like a few more might hatch. ![]() 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. |
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 |