CHOOSING CONTAINER SIZE WHEN BREEDING BUTTERFLY CATERPILLARS
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- Опубликовано: 30 июл 2024
- When you are breeding or raising butterfly and moth caterpillars, there are lots of things to think about in order to keep your babies healthy. You have to consider the size of the caterpillars, the durability and longevity of the host plant and humidity conditions for the container. In this video, we are breeding several different species of varying sizes and we will show you some strategy for container size.
#keysmoths #caterpillar #butterfly #butterflybreeding 
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Really good and informative video, super impressive species you are raising. One day ill get there haha, love it!!
Nice!!!!! I’m so glad you like it!!!! You can do it!!!!
I will actually change my caterpillars over to the mesh enclosures at the 3rd or 4th instar depending on the species. Like my Lunas and cecropia
I would love to breed Cecropia moths! Any chance you have extra eggs?
Do you have a list of the supplies you use? And how do you replace the old leaves out with fresh leaves without accidentally throwing out any tiny babies? I have 150+ Polyphemus moth caterpillars right now that just hatched about 2 days ago.
Those are great questions. I actually have some videos when I raise Polyphemus moth. I would suggest checking that video out. I have some more videos on the way that show how to deal with tiny caterpillars.
@@keysmoths5336isn't it true that the giant silk moths don't feed? And they always overwinter?
Feeding and pooping caterpillars!! Happy ☺ little pillars i say! LOVE THE PASSION and show and tell brother🙌💪❤😀😎🙏
You were able to get the female emperors from your bait traps to lay eggs in captivity? If you ever get the chance to show that ide be curious to see, with any species actually. Great video
Oh yes. That video is coming soon!!!
This is really cool and helpful, your voice is calming af btw, thank you 🤍!
Nice!!!!!! Thanks so much!!!!
Nice video.
Thanks
Your videos are so helpful thank you! 😊
You’re very welcome
I'm raising Question Mark caterpillars now... First instar in stinging nettles. I appreciate the video. As they grow, I'll change out the container for them. I hope they make it. How oftrn should i change the leaves?
Good luck with the question marks. As long as the stems are in water, the nettle should last 3-4 days. But always gauge food changing by:
1. Do leaves look fresh? If it were a salad, would you eat the leaves?
2. Humidity build up - sometimes too much food causes too much condensation which causes disease
3. Quantity of caterpillars in container. Make sure they never “run out” of leaves. Even a few hours of a container full of caterpillars without food can stress them and trigger sickness
Hope this helps
What containers do you recommend for small larvae? I have a plastic cage with a grate airhole lid and the larvae climb the walls and i dont want them to escape.
Yeah - no bueno with the cage for small larvae. You can use a Tupperware container when they are small. Just make sure condensation doesn’t get to bad. One thing to try is cut a hole in the lid of the Tupperware and put a piece of screen on it and use hot glue to cover the hole. This will allow some ventilation. But larvae of smaller species will still get out so start them off in a container with no vent at all and manage your humidity levels
Awesome video! What type of container would you recommend for hairstreak caterpillars? I plan on raising some American Coppers in captivity soon.
Oh that would be super cool!!! They are stunning!!!!!
I have videos on raising hairstreaks. I’d check them out. I use 16 oz cups and only put a couple larvae in each cup - cuz if you get lazy just one day and don’t give fresh food, most hairstreak caterpillars will eat each other
Hi I am agriculture student from india
I need different caterpillar and their pupae for study purpose. Can you send those
Sending live caterpillars across international borders is pretty tricky. I’m not sure I could do that.
@@keysmoths5336 ohok thanks 🥲🥲
Wouldn't it be more ideal to have a system like this but with some more air flow
Possibly. Yes. The plant wilts out super fast if there’s too much air flow.
@@keysmoths5336 Appreciate the info. I have some swallow tails and gulf fritillaries right now. And you are right about the plants wilting quick in addition to the amount they have to eat. I'm learning as I go
Do the cup containers with lids have a brand name or something that would help me track some down? Thanx!
I’m trying to find a brand name for you bud. I bout these like 20 years ago and have reused them since then. I’ll let you know if I find it.
@@keysmoths5336 it looks like I have my first changing into the chrysalis! I’ll look to see if you made a video on that.
@@nickmac5953 nice!!!!
Ok im the guy that asked how many containers i'd need for my Polyphemus caterpillars (for full grown ones) I have a enclosure 1 foot tall half a 8, inches wide, I also have 1.5 feet wide, half a foot tall. And one 2 feet tall, one foot wide container. Is this enough?
yeah - that sounds like it will be enough. You can always resort to using 5 gallon buckets at the end if things get crazy! Good luck
@@keysmoths5336 Thx
I use old glass fish tanks or clothes totes used for storage. You can get them for free or cheap, think estate sales, Salvation Army, goodwill or thrift stores, yard sales, flea markets. Even a big cardboard box with a screen over it has worked for me when things get crazy rearing big moth larva like Luna and Cecropia Moths
Where do you buy your containers?
Lately, I’ve gotten some of the plastic ones at Restaraunt Depot. It’s a restaraunt supply store chain. The one I shop at is on Copans rd in Pompano Beach just west of I95. The big ones I bought at Walmart
Hi there! About 5 days ago I found an orange striped oakworm moth outside and I thought it was dying, so I brought it inside and was hoping to pin it later and add it to my collection. When I woke up the next morning it had laid a bunch of eggs, and it has been laying eggs in the plastic container over the last four days. There are about 170 eggs, and I would like to raise a few of them, but I have never done anything like it before! Where do I even begin!?
Fantastic! They are fairly easy to raise. I have some great videos on raising soap, moth larvae. I would check them out and go from there. The bottom line is you keep fresh oak leaves in a container and keep it clean. Clean out the messy part every day and change out paper towel lining often. Make sure the container doesn’t get too humid but make sure that it’s wet enough that the oak leaves don’t dry out. Large Tupperware‘s work or large plastic container bins that you can buy at like a Walmart can work as well. Check out my videos and let me know if you have any questions.
@@keysmoths5336 Will do, thank you so much!
Five of them hatched today! I put in a paper towel liner and some oak leaves. It's been a few hours, but I haven't noticed them eating the leaves yet. Do they eat right away?
@@samanthastoner4527 it may take a day. Try having some leaves that are new and some leaves that are a little older. Sometimes they are picky in what kind of leaves they are eating
@@keysmoths5336 Hi again! Many of the caterpillars have begun to eat well, but I woke up to 10 of them having passed away :( They look like they shriveled up. Did I do something wrong? The others look like they're doing fine!
Where do you get your moth and butterflies? Do you catch them or order them from breeders?
I get all of mine wild and breed them