Cecropia Moth

This is a picture of a male Cecropia moth. Although female Cecropias are more noticably larger than males, males have larger feathery antennae than females. Males use these to catch the scent of a female.

Cecropia moths are part of the silk moth family. None of the silk moths eat as adults because they don't have mouth parts. Their sole purpose as adults is to mate, lay eggs (only females, of course!), and die. They only live for about two weeks.

Both butterflies and moths smell with their antennae and taste with their feet. These help them find food as well as host plants on which they lay their eggs. A host plant is a specific plant that certain species of butterfly's and moth's larvae (caterpillars) can eat. --LKR

Time to Slow Down...

It's that time of year. My hubby has just started his vacation, and summer school and orchestra are finally over for the kids. So..., once again, I'm resisting the temptation to go hunting for butterfly eggs and cats to raise, since we'll likely be going away. It's illegal to cross state lines with butterflies without a permit from the USDA, and we're considering spending time in MN or IL.

Trust me, it's even harder to find someone willing to care for baby butterflies than it is to find a puppy sitter! Before flying out to NJ, last year, I donated all our larvae (caterpillars (aka cats)) to Beaver Creek Reserve when I worked there as the butterfly house coordinator. The previous year, our puppy sitter released about 100 Milbert's tortoiseshell butterflies that emerged from their chrysalises (aka pupae) while we were gone. And before moving from IL to our home out in the country in WI, a few friends and neighbors were game. However, many times before that, I reluctantly released them back into the dangers of the wild.

Recently, we've had several red admiral cats that were parasitized, so I'm really torn. My maternal instinct says to go out there and scan every leaf for both eggs and larvae, rescuing them from vicious villains (aka parasitic wasps and flies, spider mites, etc). It's really tough being a mother of butterflies! 

--LKR