" SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVING IS -------- " By Pat Schuler, the Butterfly Lady

     Summertime in the Schuler household means hundreds of hungry caterpillars to feed and clean up after.  At present we have the progeny of two Luna moths and two Polyphemus moths spread out over four containers.  As if that were not enough, eggs laid by a Cecropia moth began hatching today.  The tiny hatchlings are in two small plastic food containers with a few leaves of what I am told is a preferred host plant for the species.  It looks as if they are beginning to eat, as I see little cutouts on the edges of the leaves where the caterpillars are congregating.   We'll know for sure if we start seeing "frass", (the word for caterpillar poop) in the morning. The moths I've mentioned are some of our native wild silk moths.  They had spent the winter as pupae enclosed in silk cocoons and kept in our extra refrigerator. In order to get a female to breed with a wild male, her emergence has to coincide with the probable time when wild males will be emerging in this area.  In order to accomplish this, we keep the cocoons cold until the weather here has begun to warm. Once a female emerges, she is put into a special cage which has wire mesh openings too small for her to escape, but large enough to permit breeding.  I'll attach a photo showing how this works in practice. Mating of all these moths was accomplished by early June.  Egg laying begins immediately after the pair separates, and the eggs generally begin hatching within eight to fourteen days, the time differing somewhat between species.

     Polyphemus "cats"  eagerly consume maple and oak leaves, while lunas refuse these easily obtainable foods and insist on pecan.  Of course, there are plenty of pecan trees in Bedford.  The problem is that they all seem to be in the yards of people I don't know!  I'm not exactly comfortable with knocking on the door of a complete stranger and explaining that I want to cut leaves from their tree to feed caterpillars!  The alternative approach of simply waiting until no one is home is even worse, as it could get the attention of police, or at least watchful neighbors.  I wonder what the fine, or jail time, is for stealing pecan leaves ?  Then again, do I really want to know? 

     Meanwhile, Charlie and I have just had the privilege, and responsibility, of taking part in our church's vacation Bible school.  If a week of teaching twenty-two children between the ages of four and six about Jesus didn't humble us, this next week of caring for our precocious five year old great grand daughter is surely doing so!  She is eagerly helping "Mimi" in gathering leaves and cleaning cages, while watching for the emergence of any more of the few remaining still hibernating moths.  I've attached a photo of her in front of the cage housing Polyphemus caterpillars.  Her sharp eyes are better than mine at spotting any "escapees" during the time the cage door must be open for cleaning and feeding.  Those little rascals can crawl away faster than one would believe!

     The final attachments show the moths we are raising.  They are all native to the Bedford area, and will be released to aid in the conservation of their species.  But more on this subject later.