HOW TO GET EGGS FROM A SILK MOTH

[@A_termite]

Ive actually been raising the same bloodline of polephemus moths for 16 years now and everyone calls me wierd for it so i love seeing that other people are interested in their tiny little fuzzy faces😊 i just wish they actually had mouths.... Been trying for hawk moths too but im now going out 3 times a day feeding my adorable forbidden gummy worms

[@keysmoths5336]

That’s awesome bro!!!! Sphinx larvae are a lot of work for sure!!!!

[@A_termite]

@@keysmoths5336 ikr

[@fizzycherrycola]

I love how everyone comes to your videos when they find these moths and eggs (that's the reason I'm here lol!). Sadly, the moth I saw laying eggs this morning died, and I found her with a roach chewing her head off :( Such is life I guess! She laid her eggs on the concrete along the bottom of my doorframe so I'm going to pick a few off and see if I can get any new life out of them :)

[@keysmoths5336]

Nice!!! They die after laying their eggs anyway. Nothing you could have done. I have some videos on taking care of caterpillars if you want to check those out

[@devinsanders8596]

God blessed me this year with a gravid female polyphemus moth. It's pretty awesome because that was the only adult I've seen this year, no doubt divine intervention! I'm currently raising 7 final instar polyphemus caterpillars! They are beautiful little guys!

[@keysmoths5336]

Awesome. Hopefully they all go through with ease! How cool

[@gazoontight]

Informative.

[@keysmoths5336]

Sweet!!! Thanks

[@TaraTheFox]

I found a Polyphemus caterpillar yesterday that was trying to make a cocoon on a car. I've put it in a safer habitat to overwinter (bucket with screen on top lol)... I was just planning on releasing it when the time comes, but if it's female maybe I'll try to mate it! Wish me luck! I'm enjoying your series on these guys :)

[@TaraTheFox]

Do you know if I can safely remove the pupa from the cocoon when it's done forming? I want to be able to clear out some of the material I put it in with, but it spun the cocoon in a spot that will make it awkward to get back into the bucket. I was thinking of giving it like a week or two and then putting it in something smaller and cleaner so it doesn't rot.

[@keysmoths5336]

That’s awesome. Good luck to you!!! Lmk how it goes

[@keysmoths5336]

They always pupate in the most awkward spots. It’s like they know exactly how to ruin your plans! Once the cocoon is dry completely after a week or so, you should be able to very gently scrape it off the bottom, and then simply pin it in a location where you want it to rest permanently.

[@JeanettePupko]

I have found a poly caterpillar who is now a cocoon. I plan on overwintering it until later spring. I hope I hatch a female!! If so, how do I mate her? Can I keep her in a butterfly cage and hang it outside next to a light? Can they mate through the mesh? What kind of light attracts them? And why do I keep hearing the word “screen”? What is a screen? Thanks!!

[@keysmoths5336]

Good stuff! If you get a female out, put her out in a mesh or screen cage. No lights are necessary. In fact it is better that there are no lights. If males come, then capture the male and place it into the cage and should only be a matter of time before they copulate.

[@A_termite]

6:06 not boring like i wish i could just sit in bed and not eat. But i have to do work

[@Doktor_Video]

Polyphemus was actually from the story the odyssey! Not a proper god, but you mostly got it! My theory as to why it has the name, when a cyclops only has one eye, is the dark purple streak that comes down from the “eye” resembling a bloody / empty eye socket. Homer and crew end up blinding the cyclops in the story to steal back something I can’t recall that he’d taken from them, or something like that .

[@pixieside5176]

i found a male polyphemus moth and i want to breed it with a female but how do i find females?

[@keysmoths5336]

Oh wow! There’s no way to attract females other than putting lights out. Also - wild female silk moths are almost always 99.9999% of the time already have been fertilized and will not mate again. The only way you could mate the male moth you have is by introducing it to a freshly emerged “virgin” female moth. It’s probably best to let him go…. Unless of course you want to keep him

[@ShotgunLlama]

How would you find/attract the female adults in the first place?

[@keysmoths5336]

With UV lights

[@ShotgunLlama]

@@keysmoths5336 Wow, quick reply. What time of year are giant silk moth adults active?

[@keysmoths5336]

@@ShotgunLlama it kind of depends where you are. I’m in South Florida so we have them active most of the year. They should be active in most of their range right now

[@ShotgunLlama]

@@keysmoths5336 Hmm I'll give it a try. See if I can find anything more than pantry moths and japanese beetles

[@emma.sakowicz]

haha "there's a lizard"

[@joewarrick6043]

I just found one of these in my back yard. It’s just and I’m in Ohio. What time of year do they lay their eggs? The one I found is a male. Thanks to your video I knew how to tell the difference lol

[@keysmoths5336]

Nice!!!! They lay eggs in spring and summer!!! Enjoy !!!

[@liamdavis8591]

I have a Polyphemus moth named Ava who just laid all her eggs last night!

[@keysmoths5336]

Fantastic!!!! Enjoy that experience!!!!! Ava did her job!!!

[@granttrashman5466]

I literally just now found a female laying eggs right now and that's why I'm here 😭

[@keysmoths5336]

Excellent!!!!

[@Neomalynn]

This moth just fell on my lap last night not doing so good and could not fly we got dogs so put it in a safe place but it kept falling so i put it in a plastic container to my shock this morning its alive but are putting eggs in the container what do i do now

[@keysmoths5336]

Now that is cool!! If you want to raise the caterpillars yourself, I have a series of videos explaining how to take care of them. The Polyphemus moth larvae eat lots of different tree leaves but the easiest is oak. If you don’t want to feed the caterpillars yourself, then wait until they hatch (put oak stems in the container so caterpillars have something you can eat as soon as they hatch from the eggs) then once they’ve hatched take the caterpillars out to an oak tree and release them onto the tree. You can just take the stems of oak that you cut that are in the container and place the stems with the caterpillars onto an oak branch. The caterpillars will crawl onto the live tree on their own and start their lives

[@Neomalynn]

​@@keysmoths5336 I had 35 eggs only 6 are now in cocoon two moths came out of the cocoons 3 days ago and one yesterday sadly due to heat they are dying but lets see what happens to the last 6 heat is killing a lot of creatures where I live

[@KentuckyFriedGamers]

I have used brown paper grocery bags and had very good results.

[@keysmoths5336]

For sure. Paper bag works wonders

[@neliamascunana1174]

my moth never mated but it laid eggs

[@keysmoths5336]

Yes - they will lay eggs even though not fertilized

[@Yeeper-vr1]

I'm currently watching a type of moth lay eggs and I'm going to feed the babies to the fish I own

[@keysmoths5336]

Oh wow!!! That’s one crazy circle of life !!!