Silkmoths and more: Lemaireodirphia chiapasiana

The caterpillars displayed today are extremely easy to rear. This Mexican Saturnid requires absolutely nothing special, which makes them suitable for newcomers to this hobby. Just watch out, they sting. It's not as painful as some other members of the Hemileucinae subfamily, but still, don't touch them. Keep the larvae around twenty five degrees during the day (it really doesn't matter if it's a bit lower or higher, just don't make it too extreme). As fresh breeding stock usually becomes available at the start of the summer (northern hemisphere), this should not be a problem for most of you. For the rest, keep clean and completely dry. No spraying with water. You really should get that spraying thing under control, that's such a nasty habit, it gets most of your larvae killed. There are very few caterpillars that benefit from regular spraying and chiapasiana is definitely not one of them. This also means that you need to be careful when it's raining. Wait until the leaves have dried completely before giving it to your animals (or cut, bring indoors, let dry and then feed it to your caterpillars). This species can be reared in well ventilated plastic containers. As food plants they accept a wide range of plants. You can use Quercus, Fagus, Corylus, Juglans or relatives, but also Salix and Populus and probably a lot of other plants. I used Carpinus betulus for this brood. Even though it's possible that there will be a (partial) second flight this autumn (depends on the temperature), I expect most of the pupae to overwinter and to hatch next Spring.