Silkmoths and more: Argema mimosae

When I started this blog, I had to start somewhere in between two breeding seasons. In the first year of these pages I published several species as caterpillars or as moths only, but not both stages. Usually this was because they were common species and I didn't wanted to continue the brood for yet another generation. Afterwards I regretted that decision. I should have continued them to display all stages. Should have, but didn't. I'm now trying to get stock of all of them to complete what I started a few years ago.

The African Argema mimosae is one of those species. It's by far the easiest to breed of the Argema species and also the most frequently sold member of this genus. Despite what you can read on the Internet, the larvae prefer dry conditions instead of high humidity. That they like high temperatures is correct though, although they tolerate fairly low temperatures as well. The lower the temperature the slower the growth. When kept above 25 degrees Celsius they grow very fast and spin a cocoon after four to five weeks. With lower temperatures it can take six to seven weeks. The most difficult part is to get the freshly hatched caterpillars to eat. It can take one or two days before they start, some never do. Some people say you can speed up the process by keeping them completely dark for 24 hours. I've tried this several times, it didn't made the slightest difference. It rarely does. I know only very few species that actually benefit from a stay in the dark. Argema mimosae accepts many different plant species, but has a preference for Anacardiaceae (Rhus, Malosma, Cotinus, Sclerocarya, ...) and Liquidambar. It's also possible to breed them on Eucalyptus. Fully grown they are between seven and eight centimeter long.