We have taken pupae of Darapsa myron, Hemaris diffinis, and Paonias myops, and eggs of Diapheromera femorata out of the refrigerator to break diapause as the growing season begins. Following up on the other species we have already taken out of the refrigerator on 5/1 and 5/8, we decided to take the remaining of our diapausing pupae out of the refrigerator, all native sphinx species: Darapsa myron, Hemaris diffinis, and Paonias myops. All the Darapsa myron and Hemaris diffinis pupae were clearly alive based on appearance and occasional movements. Two of the four Paonias myops pupae were clearly dead, leaving two live ones. We placed pupae from all three species on a paper towel and put a small wire cage over them for eclosion. We also took our northern walkingstick, Diapheromera femorata, eggs out of the refrigerator as well. We have no prior experience raising this species from egg, so we don't know when to anticipate hatching. Like the silkmoth species we took out on 5/1 and 5/8, we intend to obtain pairings from these pupae to begin this year's generation. We expect them eclose relatively quickly due to their small size, perhaps in two weeks, in early or mid June. Since Darapsa myron and Paonis myops are both highly multivoltine, wild males should probably be in flight at anytime should be attempt to call them in with the captive females. We are less sure about Hemaris diffinis though, which, although is definitely not obligatorily univoltine, appears to peak in flight around late summer. Should we not attempt to call in wild males (which might actually be difficult since it would be tricky to create a cage with small enough holes that would prevent the female from escaping but large enough for the male to copulate with her since these are all relatively small sphinx species [though we could try]), simply letting the captive males pair with the females might be a viable option for these species. We are fairly confident that the Darapsa myron and Hemaris diffinis pupae are from multiple lineages (since they were wild obtained as eggs/larvae in various occasions) and thus inbreeding would not be a issue. The only problem would be the two Paonis myops (one male and female) pupae which are actually siblings. ![]() 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.
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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 |