Her computer is down. Sandy might be able to help contact her.

TW59,

I'll let her know. I need to call her. I've been busy doing naturalist training and helping with a skipper ID workshop. Does she know how to reach you?

Sandy

TW59,

I talked to Susan this morning. She has lots and lots of Carolina Sphinx on her datura. And, she has so many, she doesn't need anymore! They are eating her out of house and home!! Not literally, but they are keeping her busy collecting leaves and cleaning out frass.

Computer isn't fixed yet. She's been helping her daughter with the baby and having fun watching Baby TV. She had called on Saturday and told me she needed some "grown-up" conversation.

Can you please contact me directly via e-mail at sun_dog63[at]yahoo.com?
Tell Susan I will only be sending PUPAE, not larvae. I have 4 healthy sextas entering 5th instar now. These are the "sage" color which is common for the late summer/early fall larvae, too. I release my moths that eclosed last weekend. These pupae will come in moist peat medium and can be overwintered in a sealed bag in her fridge.

TW I am sorry, but I do not need any pupae this year as I have a surplus of sextas on my Datura, and am raising about 20 of them, so far. I have eggs waiting to hatch as well. None have shown signs of predation as yet and there are several in 5th instar, ready to pupate.

I still have eggs and larva on the plant, too! Never seen this many before! They have totally ignored the tomato plants I have and gone directly to the Datura. It was spectacular in bloom this year. One plant with 44 blooms one night! Eggs are found on TOPS and underside of leaves AND on stems! Sometimes 2 or 3 eggs to one leaf. It is kind of overwhelming right now.

Thank you for thinking of me, though!

Susan

Thank you, Susan. The main purpose behind this, is to give any additional boost to central Oklahoma's declining population of this species. In 2005 and 2006, 100 percent of the found cats were parasitized. It was so bad [and I collected from 3 different locations in the greater OKC metro, I contacted OSU, but their head ento prof seemed so unconcerned. That year, it was hard to find a healthy lineata as well.
You knew I moved ot Neodesha, Kansas in late '06. I was there until June, 2007. During that time, I found a reasonable amount of Achemons and Myrons, along with a couple of Hagen's sphinx. You reported to me, that '06 was a good year for Achemon in your region as well. No more contact, as I got so busy with a full-time job that left me NO time for collecting/rearing, that no one here, but you, on GW heard from me since leaving Yukon, OK. Even after moving back to Ponca City, my new job after the move, ate up all my time. I had more overtime than I needed or even wanted, too.
Please contact me at the e-mail addy I posted, too. I now need Datura seeds and any of those little red eggplants you got, back in '06 or '05. New ground for more produce is being cleared here, and I want to plant a plethora of ornamentals as well, so by this time next year, I'll be "loaded for bear."

Keep up your good work with those manducas and never be bashful about transferring overflow from Datura, back to tomato. As a crop, peppers don't do all that well in OKC, but you can still pick up half a flat fairly cheap and set them. They will grow into small bushes and make a ton of leaves for Manducas to graze on.

I will be more than happy to collect some Datura seed for you. I usually cut the flowers off the second or third day after blooming. Some effort is being made to destroy Datura plants in Oklahoma apparently because some youngsters are using the seed pods as mind altering "drugs". I hope this is not true. There were 2 deaths resulting from this act a couple months ago and now everybody wants the Daturas gone! I always cut the flowers off to get more blooms anyway. But I will let a couple grow - one pod produces a huge amount of seed.

I don't raise the Manducas every year I see them. Low numbers on butterflies gives me a reason to do so this year. I always have them, but in smaller numbers. The cats are so darned cute, I can't resist plucking them to save them from predators. Some think the moths are drab looking, but I think they are stunning!

Will e-mail you later.

Susan

Yes, the manducas are in the drab colored category, but so are many ground-nesting birds, but closer examination reveals unique color patterns. As a child, I was always rather intrigued how so many moths, active only by night, clearly had the markings and colors of various tree barks for camouflage--a fact I understood, even at that age.

Manducas....always camouflaged....larva or moth, never bright warning colors or mimicry. Coloration of larvae vary between species, but I'm never jaded by the factcertain color morphs are more prevalentat certain times of the year. Right now, with so much mature, faded growth on tomatoes, and given the Datura's grayish color and silvery leaf undersides, the "sage" colored sextas blend in exceptionally well. In July, the brighter, "key-lime" colored ones have their advantage while those with even more burnishing, slip off into the shadows. They look as if doble-dipped in India ink and "antiqued." A paler green also emerges in mid-summer. Neither key lime or sage, they are medium green with very moderate burnishing.

I love sextas!