Patio Life: McMulty Siblings

I know all my contacts are dying to know whats happening with the McMulty family of 8 (Mullein moths) that I had eating my poor Buddleia to the knub..lol

During the week of 6 June 2011, I went on a trip to Sandwich Bay, leaving instructions for my hubby on the care and watching of the various caterpillars I've got on the patio..lol I left him a pre prepared bug tub ready with dirt. Told him if they begin to wander around pop the two biggest ones you can find into the tub. Between the 9th & 12th they did just that, all began to scatter. He scooped up two and they immediately dug down into the dirt.

So these are the two cocoons that were in my tub.

5 of them are scattered around hopefully having found suitable places to dig down and have a sleep. Sadly one of them didn't find the dirt in time and began making his change beside my watering can, popped him into some dirt but not sure how he will do.

The two above have built little dirt cocoons which took about one week to get finished and then turn them selves into a pupal case inside. This is not a caterpillar to raise for the impatient, its going to be a long term relationship as they can stay in this state for up to at least 3 years!! I did read somewhere it could be upto 5, but 3 sounds more like it.

In my research I found that there was a serious lack of photos of this stage, and of the pupa, so I did open one of the cocoons (quite typical actions when rearing moths, most people store them as pupa) just a small hole to get him out and photograph him, and placed him back inside.

Hopefully some day I will have moths emerge in April-May :)