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Post by joee30 on Dec 20, 2018 19:00:54 GMT -8
Keep us posted, Leroy!
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Post by Paul K on Dec 20, 2018 19:12:07 GMT -8
I am not sure what tree was it on. The tree is only about 3m high and the bark is smooth, light grey.
Either way I don't have those species yet so it is a pity it was a dead one.
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Post by eurytides on Dec 20, 2018 20:05:47 GMT -8
Paul, tuliptree and angulifera are both rare in Ontario. Unless you went to a place like Backus Woods, it's highly doubtful you have angulifera. It's almost certainly a promethea cocoon.
Also, it wasn't killed by parasites. There's an old pupal casing, which means this is a cocoon from a previous season. Looks like a male successfully eclosed. You can tell by the green bits on the outside of the cocoon that it's old. Fresh cocoons from this season will not look like that and the silk will be darker.
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Post by eurytides on Dec 20, 2018 20:09:53 GMT -8
Also, have you tried looking in Bronte park? There are also old seasons summaries online at the Toronto Entomologists Assoc. website. I would look through those and see where promethea has been seen in previous years/decades.
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Post by papilio28570 on Dec 20, 2018 20:37:49 GMT -8
Tree lines that grow as volunteers along stretches of fencing are often productive for cocoon hunters. Farmers often leave narrow tree lines between fields and roadways to act as windbreaks. Moths traveling across these open areas encounter these tree lines and usually fly along the line rather than over the top since females are usually looking for host plants upon which to deposit eggs. Also walking along power line cuts next to the woodland edges are productive if there are no farmlands around. Usually, young trees (under 10 to 12 feet tall) are more productive....also, it is warmer closer to the ground and less wind. Most cocoons I have found are within 2 to 6 feet above ground level. Sure, there will be the occasional Polyphemus cocoon much higher up but birds will usually find them before you do and the cocoon will likely be emptied.
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Post by Paul K on Dec 20, 2018 22:00:41 GMT -8
Paul, tuliptree and angulifera are both rare in Ontario. Unless you went to a place like Backus Woods, it's highly doubtful you have angulifera. It's almost certainly a promethea cocoon. Also, it wasn't killed by parasites. There's an old pupal casing, which means this is a cocoon from a previous season. Looks like a male successfully eclosed. You can tell by the green bits on the outside of the cocoon that it's old. Fresh cocoons from this season will not look like that and the silk will be darker. Yes, that’s what I read that tulip trees are rather rare. It looks like male emerged but there is no opening so it couldn’t get out.
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Post by eurytides on Dec 20, 2018 22:03:46 GMT -8
The opening is at the top of the cocoon. It’s deceptively small but trust me, the moth got out just fine.
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Post by LEPMAN on Dec 21, 2018 10:33:29 GMT -8
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Post by exoticimports on Dec 21, 2018 10:37:54 GMT -8
Paul, tuliptree and angulifera are both rare in Ontario. Unless you went to a place like Backus Woods, it's highly doubtful you have angulifera. It's almost certainly a promethea cocoon. Also, it wasn't killed by parasites. There's an old pupal casing, which means this is a cocoon from a previous season. Looks like a male successfully eclosed. You can tell by the green bits on the outside of the cocoon that it's old. Fresh cocoons from this season will not look like that and the silk will be darker. Yes, that’s what I read that tulip trees are rather rare. It looks like male emerged but there is no opening so it couldn’t get out. That's odd. On this side of the lake Tulip Tree is rather common. I have a couple monsters right in my yard. As a kid, my parents' Tulip Tree got clipped up to a hight of about 6M so I could feed my C. promethea...I wonder if Dad ever noticed. As far as C. angulifera, the first one I ever found was floating dead in Sodus Bay, 120km south of Belleville. Then, as I documented elsewhere, I "found" one in my daughter's collection of moths that came from the back deck. Now that I look at my reference collection, there are specimens that are definitely promethea, and some I am no longer quite certain about. In my area, C. promethea seems to have crashed after a population high about five years ago.
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Post by LEPMAN on Dec 21, 2018 10:42:59 GMT -8
Just realized these are bag worm cocoons
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Post by Paul K on Dec 21, 2018 13:52:06 GMT -8
Today's catch. I went as per Chuck's advice to Mississauga's (Toronto) waterfront park and I found 3 Cecropia cocoons on wild cherry and maple. Unfortunately they are all old and parasited i suppose coz of small holes. There were quite few sightings of H.cecropia in 2015 in Toronto area. I suspect that all cocoons I found are from that era. 2016 I found one, 2017 two and this year so far 3. They were all parasited.
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Post by eurytides on Dec 21, 2018 15:14:05 GMT -8
Chuck, you'd be surprised how much the climate can change depending on which side of the lake you are. We do have tuliptrees in southern Ontario, it's just that they're rare. Most of the ones we see are human planted. Much of the Carolinian forest on our side has been cleared for farming.....
Paul, you see, don't give up, it's a numbers game. Most of the cecropia cocoons I found were dead also, probably less than 1/4 were alive. But if you keep looking and finding them, eventually you'll come across a live one! That park clearly had a population so I would continue looking in that region.
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Post by eurytides on Dec 21, 2018 19:41:41 GMT -8
Also Paul, next time you are at that park, can you take some pictures of the habitat and post them?
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Post by Paul K on Dec 21, 2018 20:16:44 GMT -8
Also Paul, next time you are at that park, can you take some pictures of the habitat and post them? Sure, I could take pictures but I think is better if you check this park out on google maps, they have photos there taken in summer months. 43.547536, -79.582975 please follow that coordinates on google maps. You can explore the area, the coordinates are exactly where I have found those cocoons. Also link to the tree with cocoon ( now maybe slightly taller but not much ) goo.gl/maps/oeD997bS7vn
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Post by eurytides on Dec 21, 2018 20:34:55 GMT -8
Thanks Paul, that’s really useful. I wouldn’t have thought a park like that would have a lot of cecropias, but maybe I have been looking in the wrong habitat!! Those are isolated trees. When you google pictures of cecropia cocoons, they are always in the bush along some trails. I will definitely take Chuck’s advice and look along some water front parks.
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