Comments on: Grammia Tiger Moth Caterpillar

By: hytrewq

hytrewq — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:20:32 +0000

THIS IS AWESOME

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:48:19 +0000

I’ve only had a little success raising tiger moth caterpillars in general, and haven’t raised this particular species. Anyway, here are some sites that have general advice on rearing various types of tiger moths.

http://www.amentsoc.org/publications/bulletin/articles/rearing-the-scarlet-tiger-moth.html
http://insects.ummz.lsa.umich.edu/mes/notes/entnote19.html

I’d advise trying with more than just one caterpillar if possible, and try to raise them in individual containers maybe with slightly different conditions in each. You are likely to have a number of deaths until you work out the exact conditions.

I’ve had a number of woolly caterpillars that I tried to raise that either died immediately after being caught, or that made pupae but never finished becoming moths. I think a big problem is moisture – if it is too dry in your cage they die of dehydration, and if it is too moist they get wet and evidently drown. Something I plan on trying next spring is to put about an inch of moist soil into the jars with a layer of dead leaves on top, so that the caterpillars can find the amount of moisture that they want.

By: michele

michele — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:25:54 +0000

i am wanting 2 keep my one for a project and breed them but how do i do tha

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:52:37 +0000

Jody: I found another one this spring, which we kept in a jar with miscellaneous grass and broadleaved plants so that it could pick and choose what it wanted to eat. It just made a cocoon and pupated just about the way you describe, including burying itself under some loose grass. I’ve raised a few other moths this spring successfully this way, so yours is probably fine. Mine spun a very flimsy cocoon, and made a pupa a few days afterwards, and that’s likely to be what yours does as well. I hope both yours and mine emerge as moths OK, then we can compare to see if they are the same thing or not.

Incidentally, I’ve read that clean lettuce is often a good food for generalist feeders like tiger moth caterpillars.

By: Jody

Jody — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 19:23:55 +0000

I found a caterpillar like that last fall and have had it all winter. It has shed its skin twice, pretty much was dormant all winter, and then became really active suddenly a few weeks ago. I have been feeding it dandelion leaves, but have worried about whether that was enough or not since I found it in the street and not near its food source. A few days ago it crawled around and around, and then it settled into the dirt and old leaves . I’m hoping it is in a cocoon now. Is it possible that it will turn into a moth in the flimsy little bit of dirt and dead leaves that were in the bottom of its box? If I had known it would bury itself I would have put more dirt and fewer sticks in the box. I can’t believe I’ve kept it alive for nearly 7 months now, and I will be sad if it dies before I have a chance to set it free as a moth!

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:33:54 +0000

Jeremy: Thanks for the comment. All the pictures of giant leopard moth caterpillars on BugGuide show them having rather prominent orange bands between their body segments, though, so I don't think that's it.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:26:12 +0000

I believe it could be a “Giant Leopard Moth ” – Ecpantheria scribonia -check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Leopard_Moth

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 11:55:58 +0000

No updates on that particular one, we let it go after getting the pictures. We’ve seen a few more from time to time since then, so they’re fairly common here.

By: Brittanie

Brittanie — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:04:24 +0000

This cutie looks alot like one I found at camp once.

I love these things. So any updates on the fellow?

By: Tim Eisele

Tim Eisele — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:57:34 +0000

Eliza: A lot of the furry caterpillars have hairs that are at least irritating to the skin, so it is a good idea not to handle them too much. Up here in Michigan, we can afford to be a bit careless because none of the local species are really toxic, but I understand that some of the southern species (particularly the "puss caterpillars") are downright venomous. Still, it's not as if they are going to attack you like a wasp might, so keeping one should be OK as long as you don't pet it.