Elephant Hawk larva. (1 Viewer)

kitiana said:

harry, thank you again for your response and your help,



we're in plymouth. it is good and warm during the day but freezing at night, so we've kept them indoors. we kept them in the house because the shed is freezing..



we'll definitely try this, will it be enough food?



thanks and definitely!

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Hello Kitiana,
Opps, sorry for all the spelling mistakes in my previous post, I didn't realise I was that much under the affluence of incahol. lol.

Feeding twice a day is quite sufficient, as long as the cotton wool is well laden with the feeding solution. Living where you do, there should be a good number of the Hawkmoth species in your area. Have fun breeding them, but keep the pupa cold in winter, just remember that Hawkmoths in the wild survive freezing temperatures most of the winter, especially Elephant Hawks that pupate at ground level.

Harry

It's nearly a year since I started this thread on the Elephant Hawk Moth and breeding the green larval form.

Over the past two weeks they have been emerging from the pupae and only a couple of pupae remain to hatch. Attached is a picture of a couple of specimens 'warming up' on being released into my garden last night.

No matter how many times I have bred these beautiful moths, the pleasure of seeing them successfully fly off never diminishes.


Harry

Dear all,

We would like to thank you for the very useful postings in this thread.
Thanks to this thread, we managed to safely collect the four larvaes our cats found and watch (three of them until now) grow to full sized butteflies :t:

I was very surprised to see a Xylophanes tersa tersa (I hope we got the identification right) in Dubai as the climate is very hot in the summer (46-48°C). This is probably the reason the larvae came out in December, where we only have (22-26°C).

We were lucky to see one of them coming out, climbing on the wooden stick, unfolding its wings to dry. Here are some pictures:

RGDS.

some more...

and the last five.

That's a nice Oleander Hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) - good job of successfully rearing it! :t:

I know this is an ancient thread, but I thought I'd say thank you to Harry and anyone else who has given advice here. I've tried to find a suitable EHM larva to raise for a while. This year I found a small caterpillar, and have so far raised it to the stage where it is nearly ready to pupate - and this thread has been an invaluable guide to me. I've enjoyed it so much, I think I might start breeding more lepidoptera next year. Now I can't wait for next May when, hopefully, it will emerge as a beautiful adult moth. So, thank you very much to everyone who has contributed - roll on May 2015!! Phil

Hello Phil,
I was wondering why this old thread had been resurrected. I do hope your first attempt to rear an Elephant Hawk moth will be successful, but even if it fails, please do try again. I've been breeding butterflies and moths for nearly sixty years now and the thrill of doing so has never gone away. Everyone has successes and unfortunately or inevitably, some failures at times, but never be put off, insect mortality in the wild is extremely high during the early stages and although a butterfly or moth may lay several score ova it is seldom that more than two or three make it through to the adult stage.

Harry

Thanks Harry, it has been a great experience. I've been a keen butterfly and moth-watcher for a few years, but this is my first time actually attempting to raise a caterpillar. I do have a quick question - just this morning my caterpillar started to take on the oily appearance and constant wandering, signalling it is ready to pupate. The only problem is I'm at work, so probably can't bake any willowherb leaves. Would it be okay to do this early this evening? I'm not sure how long I have after the oily sheen phase before it starts to spin its cocoon, and I don't want to unduly stress it. Phil

Hello Phil,
Yes this evening will do just as soon as you get home. I suppose any dry leaves will do but it would pay to microwave them just to kill off any nasties that may be present on them. Then when cool put them with the larvae in a pile a few leaves thick. The larvae will find them and start to spin up. Leave it alone for a minimum of three weeks then gently remove any leaves that are not tied down with silk threads. Then put it's container in a cold place and leave it alone apart from a daily visual inspection. Sometimes the pupae will hatch out of season suggesting a second brood may be possible. If nothing happens by November store overwinter in the coldest place in the house. Never in a garage, greenhouse or garden shed as these can heat up to quite a high temperature on a sunny winters day. The adult should emerge anytime between May and the end of July. Local moth recorders were catching adults as late as last week here in Durham and Northumberland. Provide something for the emerging adult to get a grip on whilst expanding its wings. Corrugated cardboard works well , as long it is secured in place.

Good luck and let us know what happens.

Regards,

Harry

That's great, thanks very much indeed Harry! I will do that as soon as I get back. Thanks for all the advice, and I'll let you know he gets on - exciting times...!

Phil

Will any species of Willowherb do the job of feeding the larvae?

Cheers,

Andy M.

Today I found a elephant hawk moth larva crawling on my patio. I hav Read some about how to care for Nellie, however since having it the past few hours I've noticed a yellow like fluid being produced from it's behind! Can someone help and tell me what is it and anything key I need to know for her care. I'm new to this so I'd very much appreciate it.

Koya

flowergirlll2 said:

Today I found a elephant hawk moth larva crawling on my patio. I hav Read some about how to care for Nellie, however since having it the past few hours I've noticed a yellow like fluid being produced from it's behind! Can someone help and tell me what is it and anything key I need to know for her care. I'm new to this so I'd very much appreciate it.

Koya

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Koya, The yellowish fluid is almost certainly one of two things.
1. It is the larvae evacuating it's gut before pupating, it has to dispose of the remaining food leftovers in it's body and the fluids that help process the food.
2. The larvae has a bacteria infection called 'Wilt Disease' where the body fluids break down and emerge at both ends, though often from the rear end first. This disease which is carried on the leaves of plants and ingested with the leaf. The disease is an insect breeders nightmare as it is highly infectious and can wipe out every insect larvae you have. There is no known cure although many attempts have been made to find one.

In another thread on this forum several years ago I detailed my attempt to breed out over 320 ova of a locally caught Convolvulus Hawk Moth. When nearly fully grown Wilt Disease struck. The cages where the disease struck were immediately burnt destroying everything including the larvae. The other larvae were immediately isolated into separate containers (over 100 of them) and they occupied every room in the house, sadly most died in the next few days and only about a dozen survived to pupate The food given was blasted with ultra-violet radiation in an attempt to kill off any bacteria that may have been present but most were lost. Eight successfully went on to emerge the following year, but what a disappointment it was. If your starts leaking fluid from both ends, burning will kill all the pathogens in the fluids and must be done as quickly was possible. I know it sounds cruel but it puts the larvae out of it's misery fast,as well as saving countless more that may have become infected from the fluids. This disease can strike almost any species, so it's eradication inn your area will save butterflies as well as other moths.

Read through this thread carefully you will find all the information you need. It is hopefully looking to pupate so it won't eat again. So dry Willowherb leaves on top of kitchen towels in a box of some sort will suffice. in an emergency. you will also find instruction on how to overwinter the pupa.

Good luck,

Harry

Andy1979 said:

Will any species of Willowherb do the job of feeding the larvae?

Cheers,

Andy M.

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Andy, I have only ever used Rosebay Willowherb myself but I see no reason the the smaller species of Willowherb wouldn't suffice. The larvae will also eat the leaves of Fuchsia.

Harry

Thanks Harry. I've been looking through the Willowherb in the garden but haven't found any larvae. In fact I haven't found any cats of any moth!

I'm not at all sure that it is an Elephant Hawkmoth larva that you have, It is very similar in appearance, but as Colin (mothman) says, our European form doesn't have nearly so many eyespots. It could be, that you have a closely related species.

I am a little perturbed at where and how you are keeping the larva. Outdoors it is likely to be predated on, not only by parasitic flies and wasps, but also mammals such as Racoons, Pack Rats, Mice etc. I would suggest that you remove the larva into a more secure environment. A plastic sandwich box some 3-4" deep with a tight fitting lid would do quite well, provided it is cleaned out and the food is replenished twice a day. At 2.5" long it will not be more than a week or two at the most before it is ready to pupate. I would also suggest you bring it indoors and keep it in a cool place away.

Elephant hawk moth caterpillar

I have kept these beautiful caterpillars in the past but not for quite a long time. I have been lucky enough to find 2 & am hoping to keep them until they become moths. I think I can remember what to do but would like to know if they will be happy together or should they be separated? I'm so excited to have found them after about 6 or 7 years since I last saw one. I think it's due to the long hot summer we've been having!

I've just looked back at an old thread & realised I haven't found an elephant hawk moth for 9 years, but this year I've been lucky enough to have found 2! I've read all Harry's advice from 2004, which saw me through a successful transformation from caterpillar to release of (beautiful) moth & I'm thrilled to get the opportunity again. BUT can I keep them together?? They are in a large container. To think I used to be scared of moths!!

I found some willow herb this morning, so have put it in with my 2 caterpillars & also have some leaves in the oven in case they will soon be ready to pupate. So pleased to have this project again. And 2 this year!