Bug Stuff

[TreeFrog Frank]

Sweet moth Dan! Every time I am at the Movie Theater in town I look for some good moths, but all I see are generic brown moths of the tiny variety.

I need to get your opinion on a black spider that I found at my house the other day. Jen is freaking out thinking that it it a poisonous one, but all of the info that I can find leads to a Herpyllus ecclesiastics or Eastern Parson Spider. I will have to run it by and see what you think.

Dan, he said something about you taking a look at his "inch worm" as well, but I tried explaining to him that it had nothing to do with entomology!!


I love biological studies... Hmmm, maybe that's why I got a biology degree!
I'm so happy that my son is really getting into it, already, as well. As a kid I was always reading non-fiction, science books, over stories. Always exploring and collecting all kinds of things from our 5 acres behind the house. I think keeping water samples from our nasty little creek was one of my favorite things to do. Especially when the water contained hydras!!

I never did take entomology, though. I focused more on ornithology/herpetology/mammalogy. I stayed FAR away from the flora world, as well!! But the professor who taught entomology was the Chair of the biology dept. and was some kind of authority on it. He was always traveling in and out of the country for seminars/lectures and had authored/co-authored several buggy books.

 

[Psojka RP,601]

That's sweet man! Great pics!

 

[danthebugman]

Sweet moth Dan! Every time I am at the Movie Theater in town I look for some good moths, but all I see are generic brown moths of the tiny variety.

I need to get your opinion on a black spider that I found at my house the other day. Jen is freaking out thinking that it it a poisonous one, but all of the info that I can find leads to a Herpyllus ecclesiastics or Eastern Parson Spider. I will have to run it by and see what you think.

The movie theater is one of my favorite hunting grounds. You can generally find a good selection of beetles and moths, along with Dobsonflies and mayflies.

As for the spider, technically all spiders are venomous. Only a few have venom potent enough to really effect people. Black Widows and Brown Recluses live in the area, you probably won't see the widows that much and the recluses aren't as bad as people make them out to be. Tell her to be thankful she doesn't live in Australia...Funnel Webs are vicious :grin:.

Since I am out of work, I can sit on those eggs for you until they hatch......

:grin: You're too kind Clint. I can't even begin to imagine how funny that would be seeing you sit on moth eggs, something akin to Horton hatching the egg :laugh:.

Dan

 

[danthebugman]

You can see in the first picture that she laid some eggs before I got home. Going to see if I can't get them to hatch :grin:.

UPDATE: Eggs are developing, I can see little caterpillars in them. Shouldn't be much longer before they hatch! :grin:

Dan

 

[SanCristobal]

hmmmm. I found one of those same moths here in philly last year. We called the smithsonian and they sent out a bug guy who bagged it and said they are rarely if ever seen in PA and gave us all free passes to the museaum.

 

[PetersCreek]

Thats a really cool looking moth. I get my inner nerd on as wellwhen I see a luna moth here in Maine walking around my parents house.

Yep, Actius luna, if I recall correctly. Given that we share a name, I'd really like find a collected specimen that handsome to display in a shadowbox.

 

[daniyal]

Those are some HUGE bugs! Thanks for sharing guys..

 

[LiLo]

UPDATE: Eggs are developing, I can see little caterpillars in them. Shouldn't be much longer before they hatch! :grin:

Dan

so cool! try and take some photos when they hatch if you can!

 

[Cadwr]

Awesome pics. That is one hell of a moth. Definitely get some pictures when the eggs hatch!

 

[danthebugman]

so cool! try and take some photos when they hatch if you can!

Awesome pics. That is one hell of a moth. Definitely get some pictures when the eggs hatch!

Ask and ye shall receive :grin:. I checked today and noticed that most of the moth eggs had hatched :grin: :grin:. I was like a kid at Christmas.

I'll post more pics after they graduate to the next instar.

Dan

 

[Cadwr]

Great pictures, thanks for taking them! Definitely cool stuff.

 

[LiLo]

so damn cool! Thanks for posting! can't wait for an update!

 

[WMGF]

Jeeze, those are some big moths.

 

[danthebugman]

Well in the end it proved harder than I thought. I've been losing a few here and a few there (dying off, not getting out and roaming around the house) since I posted the pics of the little guys/gals. Today I found the last of them belly up :frownno:. I've been corresponding with some people who have experience rearing these and similar species. I've narrowed down the problems (I think) to food supply. Seems these guys can be pickier than your average silk moth caterpillar. While I was feeding Maple leaves, which was listed as a food plant, they do better on Oak. Also I had been replacing the food leaves daily to twice daily, but maybe would have done better to just put some cut twigs with leaves in water and stick it in the container. Lessons learned. Perhaps I'll get the opportunity to do it again.

Here's some pics of what they would have looked like:

And for size reference:

Dan

 

[Wink]

WOW! I have never seen a moth that big! We dont get to see cool insects like that here in philadelphia, my girls would love to see that! Great Picture...you are the man dan looking forward to more of these !

 

[darb21]

Holy crap, thats the exact (MONSTER) catepillar that I saw on the sidewalk the some time ago.... and yes, it was nearly as big as my hand! Very cool!

 

[BesstR]

Dan since the monsoon season started here with good rains. The tarantulas have been coming out. Seen a big one yesterday no camera though. I will try to get a picture of one soon.

 

[CWS]

I thought of this thread as I sit here in Knoxville at 1AM and a cockroach the size of my shoe walks across the hotel balcony while I smoke my dinner cigar.

 

[Vegan702]

I thought of this thread as I sit here in Knoxville at 1AM and a cockroach the size of my shoe walks across the hotel balcony while I smoke my dinner cigar.

Used to see some big ass bugs while living NC and GA. They would kick your ass and take your cigar from you unless you were packing!

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

 

[Wink]

I would have loved to have seen the full growth maturity process...Damn! I have never seen a caterpillar that big! maybe next time. Thanks Dan