Category: Attacus_atlas

A. atlas L3 Rearing Notes (11/12/16-11/??/16)

11/17/2016

Rearing notes for our third instar Atlas Moth caterpillars (Attacus atlas). These were originally obtained as eggs originally sourced from Indonesia, and reared indoors on Privet (Ligustrum).

Rearing Notes 11/12/16-11/??/16:

11/17:

The third instar and another second instar have dropped off the leaves, perhaps due to excessively cold temperatures, but more likely the inevitable result of disease

11/15:

11/14:

Surprisingly, the single third instar is still doing quite well and even seems a slight bit larger

11/13:

The third instar ate a decent portion of leaf and hasn't become lethargic yet, though we'll see in a few days

11/12:

The caterpillar that entered apolysis on 11/9 ecdysed into third instar today, after an abnormally long 22 days; the appearance is more or less the exact same as before except the head capsule now has white streaks along the inverted Y and proportionally longer tubercles; unfortunately, the unusually long time it has taken to reach the third instar is an almost sure indicator that it is diseased and will die in a few days despite successfully ecdysing into third instar -- this is quite reminiscent of our H. euryalus caterpillars that we unsuccessfully reared this summer
Unsurprisingly, the remaining caterpillars are continuing to drop, with two more shriveled up and dead

- Alan

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A. atlas L2 Rearing Notes (10/22/16-11/9/16)

11/9/2016

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Rearing notes for our second instar Atlas Moth caterpillars (Attacus atlas). These were originally obtained as eggs originally sourced from Indonesia, and reared indoors on Privet (Ligustrum).

Rearing Notes 10/22/16-11/9/16:

11/9:

Unfortunately, only five continue to cling on, though on a positive note one has finally entered apolysis
Transferred the remaining caterpillars outside to provide better air circulation, though it likely won't do anything if they are already diseased but minimizes the chance hereon

11/4:

Two died; remaining ones still feeding but not growing

11/2:

11/1:

Slight size increase; surprised they have still not reached apolysis yet

10/31:

No apparent growth, but still some feeding

10/30:

Alas, things are starting to head downhill as two small second instars died and the only remaining first instar is almost certainly doomed since it never grows
Not a lot of feeding from the healthier looking second instars again, but hopefully it's because they are going to molt soon

10/29:

Don't look any larger than before but there is still some feeding

10/28:

Growth is very slow due to low temperatures, but the larger ones still look pretty healthy with fuller tubercles and a plumper body that tapers posteriorly

10/27:

The larger second instars are still doing well, having fed more today than yesterday
Three died, two of which were dissolved in liquid indicating disease
Transferred remaining caterpillars onto Privet cuttings propped up in water bottles in order to provide better ventilation

10/26:

Less feeding than yesterday; not sure why

10/25:

The second instars are becoming noticeably larger now, though variation in size has increased
Unfortunately, one of the first instars in apolysis died and another mismolted

10/24:

So far still feeding well; much larger holes and frass count than yesterday
The second instars are developing a waxy white powder coating on the dorsal side

10/23:

Three more ecdysed into second instar
The second instars are doing very well; their tubercles look fuller after feeding
We are unsure whether this species is gregarious or not, since they did not aggregate at all in first instar but now they seem to be concentrated in the same general area on the leaf in both dishes with second instars; don't now if this is coincidental or not

10/22:

Eight more ecdysed into second instar; definitely some size variation now since some of these are already larger than the one that ecdysed yesterday
Count: L2: 9; L1+: 3; L1: 5

- Alan

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Atlas Caterpillar Ecdyses into Second Instar

10/22/2016

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Our first Atlas caterpillar (Attacus atlas) has ecdysed into second instar.

After a day in apolysis, our first atlas caterpillar ecdysed into second instar. Like with most other Saturniidae, the second instar looks quite different from the first instar. The first instar was mostly black ventrally and laterally and white dorsally. It has a black capsule and small, mostly uniformly size tubercles with setae at the tips. In contrast, the second is mostly white in color except for the ventral side, and the shade of white is brighter. The black on the ventral side and head capsule have been replaced with reddish brown. There also a few small, mottled patches of reddish brown on the lateral side. The tubercles are now much longer and hairless, and are more cone shaped. Unlike in first instar in which all the tubercles were white, the first three lower lateral tubercles on each side are slightly gray. The true legs are black.

The individual spent eight days in first instar from 10/13-10/21 which is quite long for first instar. Most other Saturniidae we have reared spent at most a week in first instar. Perhaps it is the low temperatures (60-70 during the day) that are causing the slow growth rate, or maybe this is just normal for Atlas caterpillars.

On another note, 12 other caterpillars (nine shown above) entered apolysis and will probably ecdyse tomorrow, meaning they haven't diverged in age too much yet which is a good thing. Hopefully we will have minimal losses as these get bigger since the remaining eggs are obviously dead and we only have 17 caterpillars right now.

- Alan

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A. atlas L1 Rearing Notes (10/14/16-10/20/16)

10/20/2016

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Rearing notes for our first instar Atlas Moth caterpillars (Attacus atlas). These were originally obtained as eggs originally sourced from Indonesia, and reared indoors on Privet (Ligustrum).

Rearing Notes 10/14/16-10/20/16:

10/20:

One of the caterpillars entered apolysis (forgive the poor photo quality)

10/19:

Fed and grew more today, perhaps due to the higher temperature
The caterpillars like to curl the anterior end to the side at rest, creating a J shape

10/18:

Slight increase in size, though expected more by now as it is already day five; most other Saturniids would be almost ready for apolysis by now
Tubercles are becoming softer and fleshier now and take on a slight grayish green hue

10/17:

More noticeable size increase today; likewise increased holes on leaf and frass

10/16:

All of the caterpillars have settled down on the Privet and there was more feeding than previous nights
The oldest ones seem just slightly larger than before and are a little greenish in color
One dessicated; doubtful any of the remaining eggs will hatch

10/15:

The older caterpillars seemed to have settled down on the Privet now as there are a several nibbles on the sides and some frass
The two day old caterpillars are slightly larger and whiter in color compared to the newborns
Two more hatched

10/14:

Frustratingly, few of the caterpillars initiated feeding, with only a few small nibbles at the tips of the leaves
Most of the caterpillars still won't settle down on the Privet leaf and wander aimlessly around the dish
The Privet leaves from yesterday were replaced with softer, younger leaves to see if the caterpillars would respond better to them
Nine more eggs hatched
Two of the caterpillars have already dessicated

- Alan

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Atlas Moth Eggs Hatch

10/14/2016

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Our Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) eggs have begun to hatch.

Nine of our thirty atlas moth eggs hatched in late morning today. The neonate larvae are black on teh ventral side and yellowish white on the dorsal side. It has thin, fleshy scoli along the entire body, having two dorsal rows and two lateral rows on each side. The head capsule is black and shiny. It looks like any typical Attacini hatchling except the tubercles are quite large relative to its body and are fleshy and long unlike the stubby tubercles of the Hyalophoras or Calleta neonate caterpillars. After hatching, several nibbled on their eggshells and even attempted eating teh shells of unhatched eggs. We removed them from the petri dish we had put all the eggs in and placed five and four in two large petri dishes respectively. Then, we got two Privet (Ligustrum) leaves, stuck their petioles sin a tube of water, and placed them in the dishes. So far, they have still been wandering around aimlessly but hopefully they will settle down and eat some of the Privet by tomorrow.

- Alan

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Atlas Moth Eggs Arrive

10/12/2016

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Our Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) eggs arrived today from an Italian breeder. They were originally sourced from Indonesia.

Today we had 30 Atlas moth eggs arrive from a breeder in Italy. They arrived sealed in a small petri dish and upon opening it, one had collapsed already but the rest looked plump and alive. They are a mottled pinkish brown color and are mostly round and flat on the bottom. This is the second time we have purchased Atlas Moth eggs in four years, the first time of which all the eggs hatched or died during shipping. This time, international shipping was fairly quick, taking just 11 days, so the eggs didn't hatch yet and will probably do so within the next 3-4 days or so.

Regarding some background information about the Atlas Moth, it is found in Southeast Asia and is the second largest moth in the world in terms of total wing surface area after the related Hercules moth (Coscinocera hercules), with wingspans reaching 11 inches. Despite having such large wings, it simply has a large wing to body size ratio and is not nearly the largest moth in terms of body mass. The Atlas Moth has brown wings with large transparent windows on each wing and snake-like heads on the forewings. The larva is whitish green with fleshy scoli with a waxy powder coating much like the related Samia, Acheoattacus, and Coscinocera caterpillars. They feed on a wide range of deciduous hosts in their native Southeast Asian tropics, but will accept Privet (Ligustrum) and Prunus in captivity like most Attacini caterpillars. Speaking of which, Attacus is the type genus for the Attacini tribe since the members of the genus are considered very typical of this group of Saturniids. Looking at the other Attacini moths, they do indeed bear quite a resemblance to the Atlas Moth, especially the Rothschildia which are said to be New World relatives of the Attacus genus.

We decided to have a go at this species since it is such a popular species in Europe and Asia (sort of like the Cecropia Moth in the U.S.), and has such an incredible wingspan that would be quite a sight in real life. We plan to feed the caterpillars Privet since it is evergreen here. This species is considered to be relatively easy to rear under warm and humid, though this makes it tricky to prevent disease. Either way, we decided to try it anyways, since at least we have a chance of success. A while ago, we said that the White-lined Sphinxes was going to be the last non-local species we would obtain this year, but we sort of lied (gotta have some more self restraint...). But really, this time the Atlas Moth will definitely be the last one since deciduous trees around here are senescing.

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