Shipping Naked Pupae

Shipping Naked Pupae

Special care needs to be taken with these pupae to ensure they are not damaged in transit. Pupae should be packed so there is not any pressure upon them that might cause compaction, but on the other hand the entire shipping box should be filled so there is no potential for box contents to be jostled during shipping/handling.

When I ship individual orders for butterflies or Sphingidae or Ceratocampinae pupae, I actually take the time to individually wrap each pupa (except for smaller butterfly pupae which are often deposited between two strips of cotton) in a single sheet of toilet tissue.

Paonias excaecata pupa ready for wrapping

Paonias excaecata pupa partially wrapped

I put each pupa in the corner of a full, half or quarter sheet of tissue so pupa is roughly perpendicular to the diagonal of the tissue sheet, and I roll the sheet with pupa enclosed so that I have what looks like a piece of wrapped English toffee once the moistened ends are twisted shut.

Single Paonias excaecata "wrapped pupa"

Anywhere from five to ten such "wrapped pupae" are then wrapped together (double or triple row) in a single sheet of paper towel or several sheets of toilet tissue. I usually fold the loose ends of the outer wrap together and tape them so there is no unravelling during transit. Bulk wraps are then fitted snugly in the shipping box, and any empty spaces are filled with styrofoam peanuts, bubble pack or crumpled up newspaper (don't use confetti).

Over the years I have received packages that were not treated properly during packing, and pupae sometimes arrive in a damaged state. YOU DEFINITELY DO NOT WANT NAKED PUPAE, OR EVEN COCOONS, TO BE BOUNCING AROUND IN THE SHIPPING BOX DURING TRANSIT.

Avoid situations where you might have large amounts of tissue with many pupae. The weight of the pupae can compact the loose tissue and create room for jostling. In many cases naked pupae will be damaged if they bounce against each other or against inner surfaces of the shipping container. Some pupae have sharp projections on the sides of the pupae (Dryocampa, Anisota) and some have an elongated sharp cremaster (regalis, imperialis).

In early October, 2009, I received a shipment of ten Eacles imperialis pini males in one pack; ten Eacles imperialis pini females in another pack; and approximately fifty loose promethea cocoons, all in the same box. The pini pupae were sexed, individually wrapped in tissue and then group wrapped/packed in a folded sheet of bubble pack, stapled so pupae fit snuggly in each bubble pack "purse". The remaining empty space in the shipping box was filled with additional bubble pack and cotton strips. The pupae and cocoons suffered no damage in transit.

Eacles imperialis pini males (sexed and properly wrapped and packed); three removed for shipping

When the pini first arrived they were aligned side by side in each purse. Careful packaging provided for a smooth ride. Sorry for the poor picture quality, but I did these on my scanner and propped up the lid to avoid any compaction.

When I am filling really large orders (hundreds of pupae and cocoons) that contain many "naked pupae" I will often pack several small boxes inside the larger shipping box to give more structure to contents and avoid compaction.

Unfortunately Bonnie received a shipment of naked pupae that were not properly packed. I have included some of the images she forwarded to me. We do not pay for pupae that are dead, damaged or deformed, nor do we reship them to customers.

WLSS members and I are fortunate that Bonnie is very skilled at assessing cocoons and pupae, and she is very proficient with packing. I have not had any problems with damaged pupae since she has been shipping.

During fall of 2009 Bonnie has received and inspected over 3300 pieces from at least a dozen reliable breeders. All items get assessed by her upon receipt and she weeds out anything that is suspect (parasitized, dead, deformed, undersized). On several occasions both of us have sat at her kitchen table assessing stock. We have opened cocoons that seem suspect and usually our suspicions were sustained. Because we are working with experienced breeders who have also been advised as to what to look for, almost all stock received is good.

In most cases Bonnie does not begin receiving livestock until at least mid October; if there were going to be any problems, they would have materialized by then.

Unfortunately we did receive two packages this year that contained naked pupae. In one package their was slight damage due to compaction and pupae were deemed not fit for reshipment. In a second package there was extensive damage due to improper packaging. Loose packing material got compacted, creating empty space in the shipping box, and the weight of the pupae and apparent jostling inside the box resulted in quite a bit of damage.

Most naked pupae were very well packaged and arrived in excellent condition. Even when shipping cocoons, there should not be any empty space inside the packing box. Cocoons should be fitted snugly but not compacted, and bubble pack or styrofoam peanuts or some other suitable packing material should be used to fill empty spaces inside the box. In small boxes, I sometmes use crumpled up newspaper which will not compact from the weight of just a few cocoons. Something more substantial needs to be used as a filler in large boxes where weight of cocoons and/or pupae can cause compaction. Sometimes boxes get dropped or thrown around by postal workers. As long as there is no jostling inside the box, everythign should be fine.

Some pupae are very active, and there really is no way to prevent the shredding of the tissue wrap that sometimes occurs. Sharp projections on the sides of the pupae, and the sharp cremaster can do considerable damage. That is one reason why I personally snuggly wrap individual Sphingidae and Saturniidae pupae. You don't have to unwrap them for eclosions, but I do recommend loosening the ends of the tissue wrap that have been closed by twisting. The emergent moth will have no trouble pushing through the loose end once the pupal shell has been split.

Please do not send deformed pupa. We don't pay for them and will not reship them.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

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