Polyphemus Raising:
A Multi-stage Story

The start:

The first Polyphemus caterpillars came from Josephine Keeney at the April 20, 2009 CTMN meeting. She gave away dozens of caterpillars which had hatched from a female she raised. It had deformed wings, but mated and then laid eggs all over her computer and house. So many caterpillars were born that she needed to disperse them for many other people to feed and raise. Many Master Naturalists took home a few, and some took many caterpillars to raise.

Thank you Josephine.

This is the story of several attempts to raise Polyphemus during the summer of 2009. It covers several generations of moths, with varying successes.

Part 1: The Caterpiller that Didn't Make It.

Part 2: Caterpillars and Cocoons

Part 3: Emerging from Cocoons

Part 4: Adults Do Their Thing

Part 5: Starting With Eggs