Category: Eumorpha_achemon

Eumorpha achemon Rearing Notes (5/7/17-5/16/17)

5/16/2017

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Rearing notes for our achemon sphinx (Eumorpha achemon). This stock originated from Utah, September 2016.

Rearing Notes 5/8/17-5/16/17:

5/16:

Unfortunately all the moths died and no pairing was ever obtained; they likely never fed by themselves at all and starved to death - the hand feeding wasn't enough to keep them alive
Looks like no more achemons this year which is very disappointing as it is a very fun species to rear; we opened the abdomen of one of the dead females which revealed dozens of round green eggs that were alas never fertilized or laid

5/12:

Weren't sure if the moths were feeding on their own in the flight cage or not, so took them in and hand-fed them honey water solution and put them back

5/10:

Three more eclosed, one female and two males
None of the older moths paired; hopefully given a few days in the flight cage and they might, though the species is said to be very difficult to pair

5/9:

Two more very large females eclosed
We experimented a little with hand-pairing the older males and female but with no success; instead, we put them in the flight cage with the lineatas so they can feed and hopefully pair naturally

5/8:

Two more moths eclosed, one male and one female; the female is much larger than the two males but otherwise there doesn't seem to be any visual difference between the two sex at all; the only way is to check the genitalia, which is actually quite difficult with these as their abdomens are very firm and hard to squeeze
We do not know how we're going to get a paring with these yet, but it will likely be extremely difficult

5/7:

See First Eumorpha achemon Ecloses

Authors
Alan Liang

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First Eumorpha achemon Ecloses

5/7/2017

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The first of our achemon sphinx (Eumorpha achemon) eclosed from a post-diapausing pupa. The stock originated from Utah, September 2016.

It was already quite apparent yesterday that our achemons were going to eclose very soon due to the wing patterns becoming visible on the pupa, and today the first one eclosed into a male. The moth is truly stunning - probably one of the best looking sphinx we've seen. It's genus name means "well-formed" after all. The wings are narrow and triangular, and the body is long and cone-shaped, creating a very "pointy" look. The eyes are very large and translucent with dark pupils, and the antennae are thin. The legs are long and thin, and have structures extending from each joint.

The wing patterns are not extremely intricate, but create a very nice "smooth" look due to the various shades of grey and tan blended together. The hind wings, like many sphinx, have a pinkish color blended into the tan which is what really makes the moth a showy one. However, they are only displayed when the moth is in flight or it spreads its wings wide when disturbed. The underside of the wings is just tan, besides the pink on the hind wings. The body is tan with a slightly pinkish shade to it and the appendages are pale.

The moth is actually quite tame, unlike our lineata that have just started emerging as well. It spreads its wings wide like Smerinthus genus moths when disturbed despite not having eyespots, though the pink hind wings are aposematic. The moth's flight is extremely rapid and powerful just like other sphinxes, but also very controlled, as it lands very gracefully. The jet like shape of the wings is probably a factor in these moth's amazing flight skills.

Hopefully more of these will eclose over this week and maybe we might have a slim chance of pairings and eggs. However, this species and others in the Eumorpha genus are said to be almost impossible to breed in captivity, which is very unfortunate as the larvae are very easy and fun to rear. We'll really miss them if we can't get any this year.

Authors
Alan Liang

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Eumorpha achemon Pupae Near Eclosion

5/4/2017

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Our achemon sphinx (Eumorpha achemon) pupa are finally showing visible development and are near eclosion.

Yesterday we discovered our Hyles lineata pupae were about to eclose, and now it looks like our achemons are about to as well. The visible development on the pupa is quite difficult to see as the cuticle is thick and dark. However, if inspected closely, black markings can be seen on the wings. The pupa also feels slightly looser.

Authors
Alan Liang

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Taking Antheraea polyphemus Cocoons and Eumorpha achemon and Hyles lineata Pupae out of Cold Storage

3/22/2017

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We took our diapausing polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) cocoons and achemon sphinx (Eumorpha achemon) and white-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata) pupae out of cold storage.

We were initially planning on staggering the times we took all of our species out of cold storage (which we did with the first few), but after we thought about it for awhile we just decided to go ahead and take the remaining species out except Samia cynthia cocoons. Simply put, we'll be leaving for college by August this summer which means we have almost no time to loose if we plan on rearing all of these, plus any new species we get this year. Most host plants look almost ready anyway despite being just March. It'll probably take two months for the pupae to eclose, the moths to pair and lay eggs, and the eggs to hatch. Then it'll be another two months for all the larvae to mature and pupate. So, that's four months for each species meaning if we want them in the pupal stage by August, so now's just about the right time to take them out. We can't afford to wait another month or two. However, we'll hold off on the cynthias for a little longer since those usually grow much faster than a large species like polyphemus.

Authors
Alan Liang

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Overwintering Saturniid & Sphingid Pupae

12/19/2016

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We have begun overwintering our Saturniid (giant silkmoth) and Sphingid (sphinx) pupae.

It's a little late to begin doing so, but we finally got around to overwintering our diapausing pupae in the refrigerator at 40 F (4-5 C). The species we were sure would need this overwintering treatment were cecropia (Hyalophora cecropia), polyphemus (Antheraea polyphemus), imperial (Eacles imperialis), modest sphinx (Pachysphinx modesta), achemon sphinx (Eumorpha achemon), and white-lined sphinx (Hyles lineata) since the stocks orginated from regions with very cold winters. The only diapausing Saturniid/Sphingid pupa we didn't put in the fridge was Smerinthus ophthalmica since it was obtained locally and it does not even get close to 40 F here.

To overwinter the pupae of the six mentioned species, we simply dumped them all in various airtight contaners lined with paper towels with a drop of water. Dissapointingly, when we weighed the cecropia cocoons just to see if any had died since the time that they spun in July and August, we discovered two had lost a significant amount of mass and were therefore likely dead. All the other pupae/cocoons of the other species seemed alive. We will probably take them out of the fridge once the trees start growing leaves again (March or April 2017) and will check on them every few weeks just to make sure no mold forms.

- Alan

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E. achemon Rearing Notes (10/21/16-10/27/16)

10/27/2016

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Rearing notes for our Achemon Sphinxes (Eumorpha achemon). These were originally obtained as eggs obtained from a Utah breeder and reared indoors on grape (Vitis). They began pupating on 10/20/16.

Rearing Notes 10/21/16-10/27/16:

10/27:

The final prepupa pupated; we now have 15 pupae though several are somewhat deformed, one of which may not survive
Six pupae are female and nine are male which is a dissapointing ratio as we need even numbers of each sex in order to increase chance of pairings; if not, better more females than males because males can mate multiple times
Based on mass, female pupae are just slightly larger than male pupae, though sample size is extremely small and the badly deformed pupae that weighs just 2.3g* (due to hemolymph loss) lowers male average, though both distributions still show similar variability
*Update 11/8: this pupa has clearly died
Pupa mass (g):
- Female (N=6): 2.9, 3.1, 3.3, 3.5, 3.6, 4.4
  - Mean: 3.47
  - StDev: 0.52
  - Med: 3.4
- Male (N=9): 2.3, 2.7, 2.8, 3.2, 3.2, 3.3, 3.5, 3.7, 4.1
  - Mean: 3.20
  - StDev: 0.55
  - Med: 3.2

10/26:

One of the two remaining prepupae died; it was always extremely undersized so perhaps diseased

10/25:

One more attempted to pupate but failed to split the cuticle which is extremely unfortunate -- a perfectly good would to be pupa dead, and it was quite a large one as well

10/24:

One more pupated

10/23:

One more pupated

10/22:

Five more pupated; one looks slightly deformed for some reason

10/21:

Above are some photos one of the fully tanned pupae from yesterday; it is reddish brown with orange wing cases
Three more pupated; interestingly, one was bright green in the teneral state instead of yellow; perhaps it was the single caterpillar that was green form in fourth instar?

- Alan

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Achemon Sphinxes Pupate

10/20/2016

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Our first Achemon Sphinxes (Eumorpha achemon) have pupated.

After eight days (10/12-10/20) in the prepupal stage, our oldest Achemon Sphinxes pupated. The first was a male and already tanned into a reddish brown when we first checked. The second was also male, but unfortunately, it was injured on the wing when we found it, perhaps from the movement of all the other prepupae in the container, and lost considerable hemolymph. The cut seems to have clotted for now, but we do not know if it will survive. We caught the third pupate on video, shown below, and it turned out to be a large female.

The morphology of the Achemon sphinx pupa is quite interesting compared to other Lepidoptera we have reared before. The thoracic and first few abdominal segments covered by the wings are very elongated, making the pupa length very long. The head is small and pointy, but has proportionately very large eyes and proboscis. Matching the extremely long proboscis in length are the legs and forewings which are all extremely elongated compared to most other Lepidoptera pupae. A side by side comparison with a Smerinthus ophthalmica pupae shows the differences in shape and proportions of the the two species. The fully tanned pupa is a dark reddish brown, but the teneral pupa is bright yellow and quickly turns golden brown. The cuticle is shiny, hairless, and smooth. Interestingly, the white notched lateral spots that were on the caterpillar's body remain on the pupa's cuticle right after pupation but fade away as it tans.

Left: Smerinthus ophthalmica

- Alan

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E. achemon L5 Rearing Notes (10/3/16-10/19/16)

10/19/2016

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Rearing notes for our fifth instar Achemon Sphinx caterpillars (Eumorpha achemon). These were obtained from a Utah breeder and reared indoors on grape (Vitis).

Rearing Notes 10/3/16-10/19/16:

10/19:

Still none pupated, though cuticle seems looser

10/18:

Cuticle becoming more translucent due to absorption of of endocuticle; pulse is very clear as result
Unlike most prepupae that are very firm and compact, these still seem somewhat flexible and loose and are still quite elongated because the pupae will be this shape
The final caterpillar became a prepupa
Prepupa mass (g), N=17: 3.6, 3.8, 4.0, 4.2, 4.2, 4.4, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 5.0, 5.0, 5.0, 5.5, 5.5, 7.3
- Mean: 4.74 (-0.59)
- StDev: 0.85 (-0.22)
- Max: 7.3 (-9.0)
- Med: 4.6 (-0.65)
- Min: 3.6 (-0.2)

10/17:

Head capsule becoming dull, lateral white notched spots become dirty

10/16:

Another entered the wandering stage
Most of the prepupae are almost immobile or immobile already
Prepupa mass (g), N=16: 3.8, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4, 4.7, 4.9, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.3, 5.8, 5.8, 5.9, 5.9, 6.5, 8.2
- Mean: 5.33 (-0.56)
- StDev: 1.07 (+0.11)
- Max: 8.2 (+1.0)
- Med: 5.25 (-0.75)
- Min: 3.8 (-0.1)

10/15:

Another entered the wandering stage; only two caterpillars left
Of the two remaining caterpillars, one is a whopping 9.5g which sets the record for highest mass; perhaps it has to do with the cold temperatures recently that has caused it to slow down and grow larger than the older ones that entered the wandering stage before the temperature dropped
Many of the prepupae evacuated their guts, excreting a lot of brownish clear liquid; teh oldest ones are very small now (side by side comparison in photo with 9.5g caterpillar). and are nearly immobile
Prepupa mass (g), N=15: 3.0, 4.7, 4.8, 5.4, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 6.0, 6.1, 6.5, 6.7, 6.7, 6.8, 7.1, 7.2
- Mean: 5.89 (-1.54)
- StDev: 0.96 (-0.61)
- Max: 7.2 (-1.9)
- Med: 6.0 (-2.0)
- Min: 3.9 (-1.1)
L5 mass (g), N=2: 9.5, 8.0

10/14:

Almost all have become wandering prepupae, 14 of 17 in total by the end of the day
The oldest prepupae have dropped to 5-6g and had a little runny stool

10/13:

Several more entered the wandering stage based on the fact that they kept crawling off the plant, though we aren't completely sure since they don't empty their gut before pupation unlike many other caterpillars and most are still around the same maximum weight
The three that began wandering yesterday have become slightly smaller, shrinking to 7.g, 6.8g, and 6.5g respectively and their body color has become burgundy
The only remaining fourth instar died (not surprised; the excessively slow growth rate was hinting for this)
L5 Mass (g), N=9: 5.0, 5.0, 6.5, 8.0, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 9.0, 9.1
- Mean: 7.43 (+0.65)
- StDev: 1.57 (-0.07)
- Max: 9.1 (+0.5)
- Med: 8.0 (+0.5)
- Min: 5.0 (+2.0)
Count: prepupa: 8; L5: 9

10/12:

Three have entered the wandering stage and dropped ~1g; we put them in a tub with paper towels and placed it in a dark cabinet

10/11:

Still pretty high mass increase but the largest hardly grew, so they will probably max out at between 8-9g which is quite impressive
L5 Mass (g), N=17: 3.0, 3.9, 4.5, 5.6, 6.3, 6.5, 6.9, 7.0, 7.5, 7.6, 7.6, 7.7, 7.8, 8.1, 8.2, 8.4, 8.6
- Mean: 6.78 (+0.87)
- Standard deviation: 1.64 (-0.36)
- Max: 8.6 (+0.1)
- Median: 7.5 (+0.8)
- Min: 3.0 (+0.6)
Count: L5: 17; L4: 1

10/10:

Fifth Instar Achemon Sphinx (Eumorpha achemon) Caterpillar Eating Grape (2)

Fifth Instar Achemon Sphinx (Eumorpha achemon) Caterpillar Eating Grape (3)*

*Shown in 8x speed

The largest have down a little, so they are probably approaching the wandering stage
L5 Mass (g), N=17: 2.4, 2.5, 2.6, 3.7, 4.3, 5.8, 6.3, 6.5, 6.7, 6.7, 6.9, 7.1, 7.3, 7.3, 7.9, 7.9, 8.5
- Mean: 5.91 (+0.89)
- StDev 2.02 (+0.28)
- Max: 8.5 (+0.90)
- Med: 6.7 (+1.10)
- Min: 2.4 (+0.70
Count: L5: 17; L4: 1

10/9:

Fifth Instar Achemon Sphinx (Eumorpha achemon) Caterpillar Eating Grape

It's absolutely incredible how much these caterpillars are eating these days compared to others we've reared, and they're obtaining a very impressive size
L5 Mass (g), N=17: 1.7, 1.9, 2.6, 3.2, 4.5, 5.0, 5.1, 5.1, 5.6, 5.6, 5.6, 5.8, 6.0, 6.3, 6.8, 7.0, 7.6
- Mean: 5.02
- Standard deviation: 1.74
- Max: 7.6
- Median: 5.6
- Min: 1.7
Count: L5: 17; L4: 1

10/8:

Feeding extremely aggressively; largest is already 6.2g
All are fifth instars except one now; all are brown form -- we suspect the color variation among these caterpillars and other Shingid and Saturniid species like E. imperialis and H. lineata have nothing to do with host plant like most literature says, but with temperature and humidity -- cool and humid indoor conditions induce the brown form while hot and dry conditions induce the green form just like with green and black form P. zelicaon and red and black form B. philenor -- it's about thermoregulation since lighter colors absorb less heat while darker colors absorb more which is why all of these species we have reared are always the dark form since we rear in indoors

10/7:

Fed the caterpillars some actual grape juice and flesh
The largest weighs 5.2g already, exceeding the Ophthalm caterpillar's max size in just a few days
Thorax is becoming enormous; they squeeze their heads in when tensed up
The caterpillars' movements are very slow, they push forward with their bodies and have their legs follow rather than have the body follow the legs which is quite strange

10/6:

Almost all are in fifth instar now; they are growing at an incredible rate; the largest is already at 3.6g

10/5:

A few more ecydysed into fifth instar; they are all dark brown or orange brown, except for the one that was green in fourth instar which turned a greyish brown
The older fifth instars' thoraxes are becoming very bulgy, and their capsules are sunken in at rest or when disturbed

10/4:

A few more ecdysed into fifth instar, all brown form

10/3:

The first two caterpillar ecdysed into fifth instar; they were a burgundy color previously but are a dark brown now (fully tanned fifth instar shown above next to fourth instar in apolysis); the horn has been shed off and replaced with a shiny silver eyespot with a black pupil
The fifth instars spent 7 days in the fourth instar from 9/26-10/3; they spent 5 days in third instar from 9/22-9/25, 4 days in second instar from 9/18-9/22 and 6 days in first instar from 9/12-9/18,

- Alan

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E. achemon L4 Rearing Notes (9/27/16-10/2/16)

10/2/2016

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Rearing notes for our fourth instar Achemon Sphinx caterpillars (Eumorpha achemon). These were obtained from a Utah breeder and reared indoors on grape (Vitis).

Rearing Notes 9/27/16-10/2/16:

10/2:

Several are now in apolysis
The caterpillars that entered apolysis yesterday haven't ecdysed but have turned much lighter in color
The largest caterpillars not yet in apolysis are 2.0g already

10/1:

A few entered apolysis; they are lighter in color

9/30:

Growth rate has sped up; largest ones already 1.6g
Bodies becoming thicker , especially thorax; cuticle very tight and smooth

9/29:

Feeding very aggressively now and noticeably larger
All are fourth instar now, 16 burgundy, 2 orange-brown, 1 green
Attempted feeding an actual grape to some of them and they readily drank the juice and nibbled a little on the flesh

9/28:

16 are now fourth instar; 13 are burgundy, 2 are orange-brown, and 1 is green
The fourth instars' thoraxes are very thick, being especially on the ventral side

9/27:

Almost all the caterpillars have ecdysed into fourth instar; of them, only one remained green, the majority are burgundy and a few are orange/golden brown
Most are weigh o.4g, but rapid growth should be expected at the point

- Alan

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Achemon Sphinx Caterpillar Ecdyses into Fourth Instar

9/27/2016

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Our oldest Achemon Sphinx caterpillars (Eumorpha achemon) have ecdysed into fourth instar.

Yesterday, a few of our Achemons entered apolysis and we weren't sure if they were going to ecdyse today or tomorrow, but a few of them did it this evening. There are a few changes in the fourth isntar, most noticeably the body patterns. The white notched spots on each abdominal segment on the lateral sides are very clear and defined now, and there are many small whites spots all over the body, being more numerous and larger on the thorax. These patterns make the caterpillars more textured and attractive, with the white spots giving the body more definition in our opinion. Another change is the body color -- this is the instar in which color variants ranging from green, orange, red, brown, to grey begin appearing. All four that ecdysed today are in the orange-brown range, each varying slightly in shade. Interestingly, they were completely green when teneral, and the color change came with the melanization afterwards. Almost all the other caterpillars are in apolysis and will ecdyse tomorrow, so we're hoping to see other color variants. A few other changes in the fourth instar are that the thorax is now very thick and will likely become thicker as the caterpillars grow, and the horn, though still quite long, is shorter in relation to the body, and the button like dot at the base is larger and silver in color.

These fourth instars spent just 5 days in the third instar from 9/22-9/25 and have already caught up with the Opthalm Sphinx caterpillar which also ecdysed into fourth instar today. The Achemons spent just 4 days in second instar from 9/18-9/22 and 6 days in first instar from 9/12-9/18, making it the fastest growing Sphingid relative to its size that we have reared so far.

- Alan

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