 We have returned to Albany, California from Ithaca, New York as per Cornell University's winter closing, giving us a chance to check on our overwintering pupae. A lot of strange things have happened with our cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) larvae since we left to Ithaca, New York in August. It is already strange enough that they took such a long time to complete their development, which can probably be attributed to bad rearing conditions outside as well as inbreeding, but another thing that we have never figured out is how so many of them disappeared from their sleeves over time. Of course, a number of them fell to disease or were attacked by European paper wasps (Polistes dominula) that were able to bite through the netting, but where the rest of them went has always been a mystery considering that we started off with several hundred and ended now with less than twenty. We can only assume that a significant number of them must have found a way to escape the sleeves, despite them seemingly being clipped completely shut. Our mother did find a cocoon on our apple tree outside a sleeve while we were in Ithaca and another one when we first came back home to Albany, California. We ourselves spotted another one a few days ago on the tree that is now completely bare. Although the cocoons are drastically smaller than the ones that we reared last year and are far smaller than what they should ideally be, they seem healthy for the most part with the exception of two that we ended up throwing out because of low weight.  Authors
Brian Liang
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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 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 for our entomology 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. Archives (80)
June 2018 (2) May 2018 (17) April 2018 (2) January 2018 (2) December 2017 (8) November 2017 (1) October 2017 (5) September 2017 (25) August 2017 (18) Author
Full Species List
(Alphabetical by scientific name) Lepidoptera Actias luna Allancastria cerisyi Agraulis vanillae Ancyloxypha numintor Callosamia promethea Colias eurytheme Citheronia regalis Cupido comyntas Danaus plexippus Darapsa myron Epargyreus clarus Estigmene acrea Euchaetes egle Hyalophora cecropia Limenitis arthemis Manduca sexta Orgyia leucostigma Papilio cresphontes Papilio eurymedon Papilio rutulus Papilio troilus Papilio zelicaon Pyrgus communis Samia ricini Smerinthus ophthalmica Speyeria cybele Vanessa cardui Vanessa virginiensis Lepidoptera Hybrids Papilio polyxenes asterius × Papilio zelicaon Orthoptera Conocephalus sp. Dissosteira carolina Melanoplus femurrubrum Neoconocephalus ensiger Neoxabea bipunctata Full Species List (Alphabetical by scientific name) Butterflies & Moths American lady Anise swallowtail Carolina sphinx Cecropia moth Common checkerspot skipper Eastern festoon Eastern-tailed blue Eri Silkmoth Least skipper Monarch Giant swallowtail Great spangled fritillary Luna moth Milkweed tussock moth Orange sulfur Ophthalm Sphinx Painted lady Pale swallowtail Promethea silkmoth Regal moth Salt marsh moth Silver-spotted skipper Spicebush swallowtail Virginia creeper sphinx Western tiger swallowtail White Admiral White-marked tussock moth Butterfly & Moth Hybrids Black swallowtail × anise swallowtail Grasshoppers, Katydids, & Crickets Carolina band-winged grasshopper Lesser meadow katydid Red-legged grasshopper Sword-bearing conehead katydid Two-spotted tree cricket Collecting Sites Beebe Lake Cornell Botanic Gardens Monkey Run Mundy Wildflower Garden Albany, California Updates |
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