The first of the Saturnia pyretorum caterpillars started spinning its cocoon yesterday. The rest of them will follow soon as they are all in the final instar. I have raised them on Liquidambar in mesh cages with a lot of air movement. Pretty much as you would do with Saturnia pyri. At room temperature they grow very fast. As you can see, the caterpillars are very striking. This particular strain is from Taiwan. They will now hibernate untill late winter/early spring next year.
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| Saturnia pyretorum L3 on Liquidambar |
.JPG "Saturnia pyretorum") |
| Saturnia pyretorum L5 on Liquidambar |
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| Saturnia pyretorum L5 on Liquidambar |
.JPG "Saturnia pyretorum")
