Silkmoths and more: Mexicantha oaxacana

So far, it has been an exceptionally good year for the rare and unusual. The following weeks some species you probably have never seen before will be displayed on this blog. It's definitely going to be worthwhile visiting regularly. Take this Mexicantha for exemple. I even had to look that one up myself. Seriously, this is one of those obscure genera that are barely known by anyone. The members of this Mexican genus were all described in 2012 and 2014. Who can say they have reared one of the three Mexicantha species? I bet only a handful of people can say they have and hey, look at that, I'm one of them. Yep, that does feel good, indeed ...

Here are some notes on the rearing. They might be useful in that unlikely case that you happen to get some breeding stock of your own. Given the fact that these species feed on grasses and bamboos, I recommend rearing them on potted plants. Not everyone has that, so yes, they can be reared indoors in plastic containers, as long as they are very well ventilated, clean and dry. Cut grasses don't keep very long so you're in for some daily cleaning and changing leaves. Or ... you could use grasses with harder leaves like Carex (sedge) and Phragmites (reed) which are much easier to keep fresh. They have also been reared on Phyllostachys (bamboo) by colleague Bernhard Wenczel. The growth is fairly slow, about two months. That gives you plenty of opportunity to get them killed. The pupae will overwinter in a cool, frost free room.