Nature tries to stretch the seasons in the hope they'll get lucky, somehow. Maybe the frost will come late this year, and these babies will avoid the predators that already went into hiding. Or, maybe a summer storm killed off a bunch of their brethren, and this batch will be the one that survived. Maybe it was a dry summer and the autumn rains allowed more host plants to re sprout. Nature is always gambling to take advantage of every chance for survival.

Martha

The last couple years I've been scrambling to feed GSTs because the leaves were falling and I still had cats. A few starved last year. This year, they were weeks earlier so not even close to a problem. Weird.

Nature dictated a third brood of lunas here. Second time I've ever had a third brood. Cats from my first 3rd brood mama should make it. Cats from the second 3rd brood mama will need me to refrigerate some leaves. Just no way they are going to finish while the leaves are still on the trees. Cannot imagine the ones in nature making it because their development has to be going much slower with the night temps dipping into the 40s and daytime highs in the 60s.

I have two giant leopard moth cats (these overwinter as cats). One still eats but the other has already entered winter diapause mode. Wanders occasionally and never eats.

I have a few cecropias, one imperial, and one polyphemus outside in sleeves. They seem to be having a contest to see who pupates last. I've never had an imperial this late in the year before.