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Post by trehopr1 on Feb 6, 2021 19:01:31 GMT -8
Say, have any of you fella's been out much this winter looking for Saturniid cocoons ?
Gosh, usually somebody has something to say about the topic.
Winter here in the Great Lakes region is only just now "hitting us hard" these past couple of weeks but, otherwise at least here in Illinois it has been a "mild" winter for Dec. and most of Jan.
I have not as yet actually put much effort into this endeavor however, now this week the urge to start "watching the trees" has taken hold of me. No luck yet though...
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Post by yorky on Feb 7, 2021 5:27:18 GMT -8
Best method that works for me is to dig a couple of yards away from deciduous trees about a foot from the soil surface, many moth pupae can be obtained this way in the winter,a seive helps too.
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Post by eurytides on Feb 7, 2021 7:26:07 GMT -8
Silkmoths seem to be having a hard time this season in my region. I have found fewer than average promethea cocoons. I have not found polyphemus or cecropia, nor have I really tried. Leroy always seems to find lots of cocoons, so perhaps he will reply also.
I do not recall anyone posting about their experience trying to find Callosamia securifera in recent years. Are they very difficult?
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Post by kevinkk on Feb 7, 2021 9:14:38 GMT -8
Here in Oregon, I've only found wild cocoons by chance, and not often, the same goes for butterfly pupa. Everyone gets lucky now and then, I've found mating pairs, watched butterflies depositing ova, and found larva now and then as well.
While I'm logged in, anyone have an opinion about collecting wild cocoons in large numbers and offering them for sale, I mean like in the 50-100 + range? Personally, I find it troubling, I suppose it depends on the particular area. Maybe it's a double standard, but I see a difference between that and keeping a gravid female caught at a light, but that's just me.
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Post by eurytides on Feb 7, 2021 9:41:41 GMT -8
50-100 cocoons is a huge number if “wild.” You are definitely depleting a local population. I am personally not in favor.
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Post by eurytides on Feb 7, 2021 9:48:20 GMT -8
Plus, on average, something like 1% of ova make it to adulthood. Taking 50 cocoons is like taking out 5000 eggs from the pool.
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Post by Paul K on Feb 7, 2021 9:58:41 GMT -8
I don’t think it’s possible to find 50 cocoons in one area and if so there will be another 500 or more which are missed, I don’t think the species would collapse from cocoon collecting unless it is very rare and unstable population thus it will not be possible to find 50 cocoons at the first place.
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Post by eurytides on Feb 7, 2021 10:03:45 GMT -8
Yeah, I agree. Most years even finding 1 cecropia cocoon is hard for me. Hard to imagine 50-100. But hypothetically, if you were an amazing hunter and could find 50-100 cocoons in a small area, I think even if the species as a whole was not endangered, the local population would be really reduced. I am of course assuming that if you find 50 cocoons, you are not missing 500 more. If the cocoons were that common, it would be hard to miss 500.
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Feb 7, 2021 10:27:32 GMT -8
I have not been looking. I have seen a number of Polyphemus and Promethea.
I will start looking again.
I collected cocoons in North East Ohio as a teenager and a young adult. A tree that was really abundant years ago was Sassafras. It is rather scarce. However, Aspens are super abundant.
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Post by trehopr1 on Feb 7, 2021 13:00:09 GMT -8
I wish I had some luck in finding promethea cocoons but in my area I just can't seem to find much. Here and there, over the years I have discovered six or eight of them but nearly always as singles and, I only actually had two hatch out. When it does warm up a bit more I'm going to try in earnest to do more searching cuz I'd really like to find some as I love seeing these moths hatch out and I like getting out of doors whenever possible. There is sort of a "mini" adventure involved in your walkabout for cocoons.
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Post by kevinkk on Feb 7, 2021 16:25:08 GMT -8
I don't see offers like that here, but I use Ebay for my other interests and have "live moth cocoons" in my saved searches, that's where I've seen numbers more often. Another opinion- it's a bit of a greed factor happening when you see the prices sellers ask as well. Every time I sell livestock there, I try to steer people over here. Try...Ebay doesn't make it easy to promote other sources.
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Post by trehopr1 on Feb 7, 2021 17:44:31 GMT -8
Hey kevinkk, are you able to find or breed euryalus over there in Oregon?
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Post by kevinkk on Feb 8, 2021 7:56:02 GMT -8
Hey kevinkk, are you able to find or breed euryalus over there in Oregon? Yes, I know 2 spots I like that I've captured females, and males, they seem to be very variable as far as locale, I've got all my original captures from the respective locations, and they are different, I know another person here in Oregon that raises euryalus quite a bit further east than the populations I am familiar with. I didn't go blacklighting last season for personal reasons, not covid.. I'd like to go out this late may and early june though and try, one area I go to had wildfires, the other I think didn't have fires. I typically catch euryalus at least once when I go, one area is higher elevation, so I go later, the other lower, and I can go earlier. I've never looked for cocoons, it's so much easier to set up the light and watch bluray by the propane heater in the back of the suv while the bugs do all the work. Besides, it's scary out in the woods in the dark.
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leptraps
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Post by leptraps on Feb 8, 2021 11:06:44 GMT -8
I found but did not collect several Antheraea polyphemus and Callosamia promethea. I also noticed that the population of Sassafras (Sassafras albidum) in Northeast Ohio is way down. Some of the areas have several new housing developments. These areas have been clear cut.
If the weather improves, I would to get out again later this week. I would also like to get out to Killdeer Plains WA and check my Bait traps.
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Post by livingplanet3 on Feb 8, 2021 11:24:46 GMT -8
I believe the only saturniid cocoons I've ever found are polyphemus and luna. Those two, and io, seem to be the only large saturniids present where I am (North TX). H. cecropia doesn't appear to be here, though reports of it have come from north and south of my area.
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