As I recall, I fed mine for about a month. If you're feeding 200, you've taken on quite a lot - I only had about ?60, and they kept me running back and forth gathering sweetgum leaves, seemingly by the bushel!
Day before yesterday my first one from that group emerged, then four emerged yesterday, and sixteen have emerged today! This is the most I've ever had to release at one time - you can see most of them in this picture I just made -
{{gwi:486466}}
Sherry

Thanks Sherry
I am feeding mine what I think is Hickory (not sure what kind)
I put several tree leaves in the cage with the female and this was what she choose to lay her eggs on mainly and the caterpillars seem to be eating it. I do not have sweet gum anywhere in my yard.
Would love to see them have a come back in my area. They have sprayed so much that there are no moths around. (sad)
Thanks for the information

My luna eggs started hatching on April 30. Got my first cocoon yesterday (June 13th). Cat was raised on paper birch.

I've raised 200+ lunas at the same time. I hope you have easy access to lots of hickory because when those cats hit 5th instar, you will go through more leaves than you can believe. I remember going over to my neighbor's sweetgum multiple times a day and bringing back lots of branches each time.

Make sure to look through Sherry's luna thread. Lots of info there.

KC

Here is a link that might be useful: Miss Sherry's Luna Moth Caterpillars Thread

Two hundred!!? Will you raise them indoors or out?

Love that pic,Sherry!Looks like a luna convention. lol! Will you let any of them mate before releasing?
Mine are just starting to spin cocoons,so there should be plenty of time for a second brood before winter.

Five more emerged today. I opened the cage door, one has flown away, one is on the porch ceiling, and the others are still in the cage in the "come mate with me" position.
If they want to mate with each other, I won't try to stop them, Dan, but, so far, they haven't shown that inclination, unless they're mating with each other outside the cage.
This batch wore me out, so I really don't want to raise any more right now.
Sherry

All the lunas had left by this morning, except two couples.
If the females leave me any eggs on the mesh cover of the cage, I'll raise those, because they usually only leave a few there. I'm certainly not going to put one in a bag and get a lot of eggs, though!
This couple is in the normal position - I've noticed that males, in addition to having bigger antennae, also have noticeably longer tails - females are short and fat. The male is on the right -
{{gwi:486467}}
The other couple must have read Kama Sutra -
{{gwi:486468}}
Sherry

LOL! Kama Sutra,indeed!
You're sure helping the native luna population,Sherry.There will be literally thousands of eggs laid by the moths you've released!

Since my favorite luna thread maxed out at 150 replies (I did not know a limit existed), this seems like a good thread to append messages on.

Miss Sherry,

Lunas are the ones that are supposed to be able to take bacteria other cats cannot. I guess they did sort of live up to their reputation at first. My polys, cecropias, and regals could not handle the sweetgum while the first brood lunas could and some of the second brood lunas could. But what has surprised me is how the polys and cecropias are doing fine on the chlorine soaked sweetgum while the lunas cannot take it. I just got rid of the last two luna cats because they were just barely alive.

Tomato Worm,

When the poly cocoon is being made, the silk is white but it dries tan/brown.

Here is a link that might be useful: Silk Spinning - Polyphemus

All my Polyphemus cocoons are well over 2 weeks old and STILL white as a sheet. It must be climate/diet. Mine are overwintering [diapausing].
Mine were reared on elm.

KC, do you think the bacteria hasn't made it here yet?
I've never used bleach in any strength in washing the leaves I feed my cats, I just use the kitchen sprayer on them, both sides, of course. My big moth cats have always thrived, so I don't know why mine have escaped and yours haven't. I remember one year some promethea cats died, but I only had a few to begin with.
I haven't raised any this year, haven't seen any on my window screens in the day time, so maybe their numbers are down, due to this bacteria, I don't know.
Sherry

Sherry, use white vinegar instead of bleach or just plain water, to disinfect leaves. I've been lucky. I just feed them right off the trees.

Vinegar sounds better to me, TW. I'm sort of scared to use bleach, maybe that's silly, but still, vinegar sounds better.
Sherry

I wash MY veggies in it, so i trust it for my baby bugs. Like anything else living we care for, bugs are important, too.

How 'bout them 'extra" cocoons?

I think my bacteria problems are very localized. I'm using sweetgum from my yard with no problems. But I have very little supply which is why I've always used my neighbor's tree as my main sweetgum supply.

Hello, please help!

Several of my caterpillars became dark orange in color and cocooned yesterday.Since i wanted to overwinter them, i kept them in a darker place and exposed them to less sunlight for the last two weeks. Should i put the cocoons immediately in the fridge or i should wait? Is the fridge best for them or i can keep them in a cool enough place? What kind of conditions are best for them so they survive? Any information on overwintering will be very useful.
Thank you!

I keep mine in a protected (from mice and other predators) place on my porch, which is a caterpillar rearing cage, which is mesh-covered for ventilation. You can see what it looks like in the above picture of the many luna moths. I like for them to experience natural temps, so they're more likely to emerge at the correct time. You can also put them in an unheated garage (very important for them to be protected here, since mice love garages in winter, too) if you prefer.
I've never put mine in the fridge, so I'll let somebody else tell you when they do this.
Sherry

Thank you for the reply!

Is there a way to distinguish between a winter cocoon and a summer one? Because if my cats didn't make a winter cocoon it will be dangerous to keep them at 2-5 C.

I intend to first put them in a cooler room of my apartment which is not heated and than to store them in a glazed balcony, where the temperatures are really lower (so they have time to adapt) I will make sure the cocoons stay at 35-40 F. (2-5 C) and not expose them to direct sunlight. I will put all the cocoons on the bottom of a big plastic box /airtight/, covered with paper towel. If they become too dry I'll mist it slightly. Hope these conditions are OK. Should I do something else?

Since I am a beginner, your experience and advice is really useful for me. Should I know something else about overwintering? Here is what I found on the net:
http://www3.islandtelecom.com/~oehlkew/zpupae.htm

Thank you very much!

Here is a link that might be useful: Overwintering Cocoons and Pupae