Whopper Citheronia regalis!

Halloween Costume, courtesy of Mike Stocky and family

Mike's daughter Sienna wore this costume for Halloween 2007.

Mike writes, "Sometimes I get a little carried away when making halloween costumes for my daughter but it did win first prize for Sienna.

"We built it using an old back pack frame, five beach balls, some flexible plastic plumbing, wheels from Sienna's old stroller, and a few miles of fabric. All the usual stuff that giant bugs are made of. I have also attached a photo of our costume from Halloween 2006 also built from stuff lying around the homestead and miles of fabric."

Sienna, "Praying mantis", October 2006.

Mike is quite creative and hard working. He built this structure (one of three) to house over 200 Citheronia regalis larvae.

Citheronia regalis larval rearing cage, courtesy of Mike Stocky.

Mike writes, "Our regalis were reared on cut food in three 3 ft.x 2 ft.x 8 ft. cages which I built. This was great for being able to observe the caterpillars, but, by the time they reached the 5th instar, we were literally feeding them three times a day. We used fresh cut branches from sweet gum and sumac. (We live in the country with plenty of trees).

"The photo below is our original female moth just minutes after emergence. This took place as we were starting home from a camping trip down in West Virginia. (Yes, we took the pupae along.) Hearing lots of excited noises from Sienna in the back seat, we stopped the car and watched the show."

Citheronia regalis female and Sienna.

"In the summer of 2006 we were lucky enough to find a Hickory Horned Devil caterpillar on the highway near our home. With lots of help from the internet, including your site, we kept it through its life cycle and bred it to a wild male. It has been an amazing adventure for us all and an especially enriching experience for my daughter, Sienna. I think I may have a budding entomologist on my hands.

"Our pupae have been spending the winter packed in peat moss & soil in a styrofoam container in our garage. It does not freeze our there but it is, of course, cooler than the house."

Ain't life a wonderment! Mike's cage looks like something I might have built. The only concern I would have would be possible moisture loss from the foliage. About the only way(s) to compensate when offering cut food, is to keep food as fresh (moisture laden) as possible via frequent changes and/or keeping cut ends in water, into which the larvae cannot crawl.

I am going to add this page to the members' articles section for several reasons:

1) The family went camping!

2) The family took the pupa with them!

3) The family was successful in overwintering the pupa of the found larva.

4) The family was successful in getting a pairing.

5) There's no shortage of work and ingenuity in the success of this project!

6) It's a good story!

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