Johan Aven
2011-12-25 23:58:46
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As most of you already know by now, I have little over 10 pupae of this species in the fridge. If you read my brood diary you'll also learn that I've had this species more than once before but never got them to breed. So, please, anyone. If you have had this species and got it paired, I'd like you to tell me as much as you can about how you did it. |
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Kaat dec
2012-05-27 13:48:44
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Hallo Johan,
I'm a new member and by looking at the other member I saw your question. It is not so that I am an experienced breeder of this species, but I found in one of my books the following on Saturnia pyri for pairing :
In "A silk moth rearer's handbook" by Gardiner , I found :
"For pairing this species requires as much space as possible and a good breeze to disseminate the calling femeles' scent appears to be a distinct advantage. A fan can be used for this purpose."
I hope this can help eventually.
Kind regards,
Kaat |
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Johan Aven
2012-08-29 12:13:37
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Thank you for the information. I haven't read "A silk moth rearer's handbook" but I think I think I've used a fairly large cage and a good breeze too. I will have to try them again one day. Maybe next year. |
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Mike Matheson
2014-06-01 13:13:39
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Raised pyri 2years ago. This time last year they all hatched out except one cocoon. I was not able to get a pairing despite the fact that i had numerous moths at the same time. I always see thme posted as crossed with wild males, is this because breeders just have access to new blood,, or is it absolutely necessary (ie. polyphemus syndrome).I have L2 on the go right now sleeved on wild pear trees.Yesterday the 2year old cocoon hatched into a perfect male moth!!!! |
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Jurgen Vanhoudt
2014-06-01 13:31:33
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Hello Mike, no it is not absolutely necessary, it's because they are available. Breeders that live more north will pair captive bred males and females, but they are notorious difficult to pair. It should be done outdoors and then you need a night temperature of at least 12°C, otherwise they will not move around a lot. A mild breeze also helps and a cloudless night. These circumstance are rarely obtaint in april or even may if you live to far north. These are the months that most cocoons eclose. Getting them to pair indoors is almost impossible. You can try it by leaving a window open and place the cage in front of the open window.
Another reason why they often do not pair is because the cocoons need a few nights of mild frost (not below -5°C). Some frost seems to benefit all European Saturnia species.
On the other hand there are a lot of old wives tales about this species, like you should breed them outdoors, sleeved on a living plant. That's not necessary at all. I keep them indoors on cut plants. Just keep them in very dry and warm conditions when you do that and they will grow fast (faster then outdoors) and without problems. |
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Gary Edward King
2015-01-02 21:26:31
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A suggestion is to tie out the female S. pyri and let the males in the neighbourhood find it themselves. There are two problems with this strategy: 1. You may have a female which has emerged in advance of the local males; 2. In certain countries such as Spain, this is illegal if you don't have the required permission to deal with insects. If you don't, we are talking of fines of 3,000+ Euros! In fact, thinking of where S.pyri exists (SW central Europe eastwards to the Middle East), I cannot think of a single country where you could actually do this! In the UK you could but it's not found there! In France, Germany, Switzerland, Spain and Turkey you couldn't. In Italy you can, if you are outside a National Park!
One reason why males do not pair in captivity is that they become 'saturated' with the female pheromone to such an extent that they cannot direct themselves towards it in order to copulate. It's not as if they can 'see' the female in front of them. An added problem is the age of the female, it would be best to put it out in an area where it is known to occur the FIRST night of emergence and certainly before any ova are laid.
Temperature is possibly a factor, but remember where the insect is to be taken, nights in April or May are generally cold. A cloudy night would be best with light rain. If you've males to 'waste' you could tie out the female and let your 'own' males find it. |
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Andre Pires
2015-01-02 21:48:20
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Gary do you know if it is illegal in Portugal as well?? As I cannot find any info at all about the rules and laws related to insects and other inverts. |
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Gary Edward King
2015-01-03 12:00:00
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Dear Andres, I think you'll find that there is no legislation concerning insect collection in Portugal except in National Parks. Martin Corley, an expect on the Lusitania fauna, would know for sure.
Where are you based in Portugal? Do you have material of S.pyri from there? I have only ever seen it in Tarragona as larvae, and once in Ciudad Real. It is actually a protected species in Colmenar Viejo a municipality in Madrid! Quite ridiculous! Gareth. |
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Andre Pires
2015-01-03 17:31:51
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Yes, I see many Saturnia species around here I am near Lisbon ( more specifically in Torres Vedras ) and I am going to start a partnership with the one and only Butterfly house here in Portugal which contains only Portuguese species, being S. pyri one of them. |
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Jason Chen
2015-01-04 05:11:45
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Hey Mike, I wanted to ask a little from you about this polyphemus syndrome you bring up. Obviously I've never heard of it, what do you mean by it? |
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David Benito
2015-05-14 05:53:09
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Hi, I am having problems with my S.pyri caterpillars. They are in L2-L3, but suddenly some of them started to vomiting what they ate and start to dehydrated and die. I changed their diet from Ulmus sp. to Prunus sp. And they accepted well. No treated trees, so there is no pesticides on leaves. Have you observed something like this before? Thanks. |
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