Female mated, laid eggs, and then started calling

[Fernando]

Dear people,

I have an E. calleta female that mated about two days ago, and laid an important amount of eggs (say ~100). But now, I came to see her and she's calling again!

What does that mean? That the mating was just "partially succesful"? That she ran out of the male's sperm? And my main question: what can I expect from the eggs that she already laid?

It is very important for me to know, as I have to send these eggs and I don't want them to be infertile. Thanks in advance for your help.

[oehlkew]

I do not know for sure why she called again. It could be any of the reasons you suggested.
I was quite surprised a year or two ago (just looked it up and it was 2006 by Eugene Morton; time flies) when I recieved very reliable reports that female Callosamia promethea will call and mate more than once, even after depositing a fair number of eggs.
This behaviour may not be uncommon, as many breeders place egg laying females in paper bags to get eggs and do not watch for subsequent scenting and pairing.
Please save the eggs and let us know if they turn out to be fertile
In just a few more days you should be able to dissect one of the original eggs with the point of a sharp needle or pin. If all you see is clear liquid with no texture, then the eggs are probably infertile.
If there is some texture, then the embry is developing because it is fertile. Waiting may make it impossible to get your eggs to destinations in time. I suggest you contact those who want eggs and let them know what the situation is and let them decide if they want you to try sending the first batch of eggs or not.

Bill Oehlke

[Fernando]

Dear Bill, thanks for your reply, I really appreciate it.

The female stopped calling some hours ago. Maybe she was just "confused"?

I currently have more than one female laying eggs in the same enclosure, so I have no way to tell which eggs were laid by the "confused" one. I'll see what I can do. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks!!

[trembo3578]

As Bill mentioned Callosamia Promethea can mate multiple times but I am not sure about this species. Here is an interesting published article about the subject:

www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1674/0003-0031-162.1.7

[Fernando]

Mar 30, 2011 20:35:48 GMT -8 trembo3578 said:

As Bill mentioned Callosamia Promethea can mate multiple times but I am not sure about this species. Here is an interesting published article about the subject:

www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1674/0003-0031-162.1.7

Thanks for the link! I can't buy the article, but I get the idea from the abstract.