Attacus Atlas and Parthenogenetics

Hey ya'll

so I went back to check on my attacus atlas this morning and found her in the exact same position as she had been last night but, unfortunately, not a single male in sight. I shook the netting slightly to see if she had expired and found instead that she had been rather busy, depositing her eggs on the cage wall. Now, I really didn't think much of this (because many moths are quite prone to laying their eggs just about anywhere and everywhere when captured) but I later read, right before I was about to toss out the unfertilized eggs, that Atlas Moths may in fact be capable of reproducing parthenogenetically! Now how about that!!! Of course this piqued my interest quite intensely and I am still in the process of sourcing information to get this verified (or debunked) but it would be quite amazing, I think, to be able to raise a batch of parthenogenetically produced females and try the whole baiting thing again this time with more individuals that would hopefully mean greater chances of attracting a male as I would be increasing significantly the output source of female pheremones in my area!

Atlas moth in her cage early this morning. If you look real closely you may see two eggs that she'd laid.

That being said, though I am very hopeful that these eggs will yield some results, I am also rather skeptical as well (this is the first I'm hearing about parthenogenesis in Saturniidae). I guess all there is to do right now is sit and be patient. And, as they say, don't count my eggs before they have hatched!!!

Cheers,
Cyren

Mothra Attacks!!!

Hey ya'll 

It feels good to be back here writing after my long period of inactivity and I must say that it was dear old Mother Nature who provided me inspiration to write again, this time in the form of a rather strikingly patterned moth of epic proportions. The moth, which was found clinging to the curtains of our kitchen windows turned out to be none-other than the famed Atlas Moth (attacus atlas) which is heralded all around the world in butterfly gardens and exhibits as the "largest moth in the world" for the very fact that it does indeed possess a total wing-surface area greater than any currently known species of butterfly or moth.

My mom, who was present when I found the moth, was quite taken by its sheer size and beauty and consequently quite distraught when she learnt that all giant silk moths (Saturniidae) do not possess mouth parts and therefore cannot feed for their 1-2 weeks of adult life. This, however, prompted her to aid me in my attempts at finding our lovely silk moth a mate. The reproductive role of the female atlas moth is highly passive and due to their gargantuan size, female atlas moths are often rather clumsy and erratic fliers. Therefore, instead of fluttering about haphazardly in search of a mate and expending on valuable fat reserves, the female atlas moth will cling to one location and release pheromones that may be detected by males several kilometers away. By this logic, I reasoned, we may place our female moth in a cage outdoors and hope that her scent would be detected by any male fluttering about in the immediate area. The chances are quite slim, of course, that a male atlas moth would actually be able to follow the scent trail of ours and make it to the outdoor cage but I figured that since these moths do not feed or fly about generally, there really wasn't much harm in trying anyway. 

We fashioned our cage out of an old laundry basket, nailed to a flower pot stand, and placed it in a location outdoors that could both catch the wind, but remain dry in the event of bad weather! I guess there's nothing to do now but hang around... and wait for something to happen!!!

ps. Speaking about moths, do check out this wonderful specimen of Daphnis hypothous that Raymond found for me. 

Cheers,
Cyren

Copulation

Hey ya'll 

So while we're all waiting for the butterflies to relax sufficiently for spreading (I'm leaving them in the chamber for a week at least, just to be sure!) I thought of trying my hand again at hand-pairing some of the emerged butterflies in my flight (now turned Savage Garden) cage. True, I no longer have any butterflies of different species with which I may create hybrids with... but at the very least it will give me some experience with hand-pairing in the future. I enticed the male first, by placing him in a box under a bright light to increase his body temperature to about thirty degrees celcius (that got him bright and active) and then held him firmly by the wings in one hand, the female in the other, to start my first attempt at hand pairing. Now, many of the online websites will tell you how easy it is to get the male's claspers open by gently pressing his abdomen. Truth is... it's really not. Not for me, anyway. Getting the male to "open up" was so much tougher than it looked, and even though he was "excited" by the light, I could not get his clapsers to open up wide enough to accommodate the girth of the female's own behind. I eventually managed, though, with the help of a fine pin head and no sooner than I had put the female close to him that he seemed to take charge. A quick flick of the abdomen, and half a second later... 

My very first hand-paired butterflies!!! The male is the one on the bottom and the female  can be distinguished by her orange-tinted wings. If you look closely, you will also notice some yellow fuzz escaping the bottom crevice of her abdomen. I'm really not sure what this is and I most certainly did not see anything like it in any of the online tutorials... but I suppose we can only let her lay her eggs and hope for the best

The butterflies were relocated (carefully!) after photographing them, to the top of the enclosure. Closer to the UV lights, where they may benefit from both its rays and heat. I really hope this works!!!

Cheers,
Cyren

Butterflies eclosing in the Middle of the Night

Had these two butterflies emerge last night around 12.00am barely an hour apart from each other. What was also amazing was how fast their wings expanded to full length. The first and second picture (which are of the same butterfly) has only a time lapse of 5 minutes between shots. The third picture depicts the second butterfly eclosing from its chrysalis right next to its sibling. If you notice the chrysalis behind it you will be able to make out the butterfly's body though it didn't actually eclose until this morning.

All three butterflies taking their first meal

Welcome to the world, my darlings.

Cheers,
Cyren

Butterfly Hybrid Project pt. 2 ~ Setback and Unexpected Surprises

Hey ya'll

Unfortunate news. Though I have been feeding and caring for them in a routine fashion, the male butterfly that hatched not 2 and a half days ago was found dead in the flight cage for unknown reasons. Perhaps the temperature at night was too low for its liking, or perhaps it was just an unhealthy specimen but either way I found myself with one robust, healthy female, but no male to mate her with. As you can imagine, I was quite disappointed (though part of me told myself that perhaps this is a sign that this just was not meant to be). Either way I was about to release my female into the wild (so she can find her own suitor) when lo' and behold... she started laying! Why, I must admit I was taken completely by surprise! Was it possible, that the two different species of swallowtails mated in the flight cage on their own accord when I was away? Or... is it possible for female butterflies to lay unfertilized eggs (the same way some birds and mantids do)? I suppose there is only one way to find out... keep the eggs, and see for myself. I waited half an hour until she had stopped laying and  then rubbed her abdomen against the leaves, causing her to expel two more. By the end of this process her bulbous abdomen had shrunk somewhat and when I was sure that there were no more eggs in her, I released her into the great outdoors! Good luck my baby, and I hope you find your way out there!!! As I released her, two rather large swallowtails, Papilio memnon and Papilio helenus swooped down from, oh I don't know where... and fluttered about around her!!! Seems like this baby of mine somehow has a knack for attracting diverse suitors!!! Oh well, to each her own! 

On a separate note, I will be expecting a parcel to arrive in a few weeks time. They should contain, among other things, several coveted (by myself) papilionidae butterflies that would no doubt be precious jewels to my collection. I do not wish to reveal them (lest I spoil the surprise!!!) but I can say this much: that two pairs of them are going to be birdwings from Papua, the other six are Parides from Southern America. Oh I can't wait for them to arrive!!! I feel like a child again, in the last few weeks of the year... waiting for Christmas... in June. 

Cheers,
Cyren

Butterfly Hybrid Project pt. 2 ~ Advice and Well-wishes?

Hey ya'll

the second butterfly had eclosed by the time I got home and I am pleased to report that it is indeed... a MALE. Mazel tov, it's a boy!!! From what I have read online, the males need about 3 days or so to mature before they are ready for mating (I am presuming that their anal claspers don't work or "loosen out" until them) so in the meantime (while I wait for this Saturday afternoon to try anything), I will just continue to care for and feed the babies while watching and reading up all I can to refresh my memory on hand pairing!!! What I do not understand so far is the concept of squeezing the male's abdomen so that the anal claspers will open... how hard do I have to squeeze? And at which point? If anyone of you here has any experience doing this, any help would be hot. 

Not sure if they are eating or not, but both butterflies expelled transparent liquid from their bottoms shortly after so I take that as a good sign. 

Cheers,
Cyren

Butterfly Hybrid Project pt.1

Hey ya'll

The first butterflies eclosed from their chrysalids today. The first one (which seems to be the only P. polytes pupa I have... which is strange considering the sheer number of caterpillars I raised this season) hatched around 5am this morning, fooled perhaps by the 24/7 UV light that shines on its cage and the second one is due in a couple of hours time, possibly when I am at work. An unfortunate, but anticipated twist in the turn of events is that the P. polytes that eclosed first was a female. This puts a cramp, somewhat in my breeding operation as I would have preferred to have my females as fresh as possible. No matter, if the chrysalis at home turns out to be a P. demoleus male, all is not lost and I daresay I can attempt breeding them some 2-3 days later.  As it stands, I can only reduce the temperature in the room and make sure that the female remains as inactive and healthy as possible. 

I've started feeding her with a solution of 15% sugared water but am thinking of "kicking it up a notch" with 100 Plus or Gatorade as I have read online that these make much better nectar substitutes. As it stands, swallowtail butterflies can be notoriously difficult to feed in captivity (they seem to have trouble feeding from artificial flowers soaked in the sugary solution) so hand feeding is sometimes necessary. As is what I did today. The set-up may look quite appalling but it is really quite harmless and is really designed to prevent the butterfly from getting its wings and legs "contaminated" by the sticky syrup thus hindering its movements/damaging it. 

Eat up my baby!

Anyway I am really hoping this project can come to fruition (am curious and anxious to find out what kind of butterfly will result from the pairing of these two... indeed, if such a pairing were even possible to begin with) but we can only hope for the best! Stay tuned for updates!!!

Cheers,
Cyren

Hand Pairing Butterflies

Hey ya'll!!! 

I've not been this excited in ages!!! I just learnt of a new method for pairing up my butterflies today known as hand-pairing; a process where two individual insects are coerced to mate via human interaction. The process (and I have watched the video tutorial) seems relatively straightforward and involves gripping both butterflies in either hand and manually aligning the male's mating claspers along the female's ovipositor. As you might expect, the butterflies are sometimes quite indignant at being made to go through this procedure (the male needs to be "pinched" slightly to get his claspers open) but once they have been "connected", so to speak, both insects often calm down and find the process quite agreeable after all. The success rate of breeding is significantly increased which avoids "wasted specimens" fluttering around in captivity without ever reproducing and the other benefit to this is that you get to choose which butterflies to pair up (therefore ensuring that only the strongest, healthiest insects get to add their genetic material to one's breeding stock). Hand pairing, however, is not necessarily suitable for all species. While most moths are quite ambivalent about the procedure (Saturnids are especially cooperative!), not all butterflies are able to reproduce thusly. From what I've read, danaiidae and papilioniidae have been most successfully bred in this way! Fortunately for me, I have got a batch of swallowtail caterpillars on the way to adulthood. I can barely wait to start on them!!!

I wonder if this is how I can create hybrids...

Cheers,
Cyren