Our experiences rearing the polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus. The origin of the individuals we are rearing is south-central Texas. Antheraea polyphemus is naturally occurring throughout most of the US and southern Canada. It has been collected in every state except Nevada and Arizona. It's usual host plants are almost all broadleaf deciduous trees... Oaks especially, Maples, various fruit trees such as apple and plum, and in the northern parts of it's range Birch is much preferred.

Bill Mooney stopped by on his way back to Tucson from a disappointingly uneventful collecting trip to south Texas, with a nice female polyphemus he picked up at a gas station about 100 miles west of San Antonio. Figures... drive a thousand miles for a collecting trip that produces almost nothing, then find some good stuff at a gas station on the way back...

In any event, that female began dropping ova as soon has he grabbed her, and he gave me five to see what I could do with them. They were deposited on 15 April 2002. The first 2 larvae hatched 10 days later, on 25 April. The next day, one more hatched, and one more the day after. The fifth ova never hatched. The first instar larvae were tiny little things, light green in color with a conspicuous head, and too small to get a decent photo of with my equipment. Each one that hatched ate about 50% of the eggshell it came from.

The first foodplant I offered to them was Bur Oak (Quercus macrocarpa) which they seemed to like very well. One of the larvae refused to eat, even though I also offered it Red Oak (Q. rubra) and Weeping Willow (Salix babylonica). It unfortunately expired after 2 days. There are several small Bur Oak trees growing in nearby parking lots, so I have to go steal some leaves every few days. The remaining 3 have been very healthy and growing fast (as of 12 May.) One is growing significantly faster, reaching each next instar about 3 days before the others. Each instar has lasted approximately a week.

The accomodations they've been kept in were indoors in small, sealed plastic dishes for the first two instars. This kept them separated, if one were to get sick with a viral disease it hopefully would keep it to itself and not create an epidemic, and it also kept small cuttings of the food plant from dehydrating too quickly. Late in the second instar, I moved them to their permanent home, a 5-gallon bucket in which I place small cut branches of food plant, in a vase of water with a tiny bit of "Miracle-Grow" plant food. I wrap the small branches with a wad of cotton where they enter the vase, so the catterpillars can't crawl down into the water and drown. The leaves stay nice and fresh for 3 to 4 days. This method of rearing isn't overly pretty, and it's not as "professional" as sleeving larvae out on host plants; but it is very clean, easy, and a good alternative if you don't have the capability to sleeve them out.

I cover the bucket with a piece of netting, held in place with a small bungee cord and string wrapped around the rim. This permits free air circulation, and keeps dirt, pests, and predators out. They've been kept outdoors during the day, in total shade, averaging 85 degrees. At night I bring them inside, temperature averaging 75 degrees. Excessive humidity is not a problem, outside humidity has been averaging under 15 percent. At least once a day I give them a good soaking spray of water. I figure they get rained on in their natural home. They seem to enjoy drinking droplets of water, and any excess water evaporates within an hour and a half.

Polyphemus is the only other large saturnid I've had the opportunity to raise (so far). In 1991 or thereabouts I discovered 3 third-instar polyphemus larvae that I reared through to maturity. That was in northern Maine, and they were found on a Birch tree.

Antheraea polyphemus ova. Scale is in millimeters.