Another Rescue

by Ronald Nelson

This is Ronald Nelson in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I had an unforgettable experience with a full-grown Hickory Horned Devil Larva. It was the last one of the season. It was still feeding on Pig Nut Hickory the night before. I knew that it would not be long before it would want to burrow down and pupate. In the morning before I went to work, I noticed it had followed the sprig of Pig Nut down into the gallon jar that I was using as a vase and drowned; it was belly up on the bottom. I didn't have time to do any thing right then and there, so I went to work for a ten hour shift.

When I got home I took the seemingly dead Regalis larva out of the gallon jar of water and saw it was extremely bloated and stiff and a very nice specimen to preserve in alcohol so I placed both of my index fingers across the top length of the larva and my thumbs on the bottom length and began to put pressure on the lifeless body until the water came out of all the spiracles on both sides of the body.

I blotted with paper towel and did this about three more times until no more water would come out. I left the lifeless larva on the window sill and went out to eat. I was gone for roughly three hours.

When I returned I noticed the same larva was beginning to move. Nine days later the larva made a full recovery and made a normal large female pupa. How can this be?

The larva was under water for fourteen hours plus. It was about seventy degrees not very humid. I had Florlife in the water at the time; it's a chemical that florists use to keep leaves green longer. I could not believe that I revived this larva after being submerged for that long. What do you think the circumstances where that I was able to do this?

I replied to Ron, that similar experience is recorded on site regarding cecropia. I also had about twenty Paonias excaecata pre-pupal larvae spend at least twelve hours under several inches of water. They all pupated and subsequently hatched following summer.

Apparently very little oxygen is needed by larvae.

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