ALMOST BEEKEEPING - RELATED TOPICS > OTHER INSECTS BOTH GOOD AND BAD FOR THE GARDEN
Polyphemus Problem
BlueBee:
OK Folks, I have a problem. I had 4 of my Polyphemus emerge last week which is WAY too early for them. You see they feed off Red Oak leaves and the Red Oaks haven’t even broken bud here yet. What should I do :?
Michael Bush:
Get someone to mail you some red oak leaves from somewhere further south?
BlueBee:
Then there is the other problem of getting them to mate without a red oak tree in leaf. The Polys are a little harder to mate than the other silk moths. You usually have more luck if you hang the females in red oak trees. Something about the volatiles emitted by the oak leaves along with the female pheromones. I’m not an expert though.
MrILoveTheAnts:
Try the flowers if they have them. If there's still dead leaves to the plant about, the caterpillars should eat those but fresh leaves from this year are best. Consider driving to a park south of you and locate some leaves. Even driving just an hour can be worth the trip. Load up on leaves, freeze the extras until needed!
BlueBee:
No mating yet. I’ve tried to get them to mate in the barn that past couple nights because it has been cold up here. Warm front pushed through today so I’ve got 4 cages of Polys out hanging in the trees tonight. Hopefully we’ll have some success tonight.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
Go to full version