Emperor Moth Caterpillars and an Interesting Book on Living Churchyards

I promised Amanda the other day that I would post some photos of the cages I've used/will use for rearing my Emperor Moth caterpillars. You don't really need any fancy equipment to raise caterpillars - when the children were little we often used to collect 1 or 2 caterpillars and raise them to adulthood and we just used a very large empty bottled water container or you could use a large sweet jar. The reason I bought a "special" cage (well, actually in the end I had to buy 2!) for the Emperor moth caterpillars was because they grew very large and I also had a large quantity (I can't remember the exact number but it was between 40 and 50). I also had to take them on holiday with us so I could keep them supplied with food (they were voracious eaters of bramble leaves) and it was far easier to transport them in cages with handles than in a sweet jar!

As I am eagerly awaiting the emergence of the adult moths from pupae I thought I'd also do a little recap of the caterpillars.

They started to emerge from the eggs about the 13th May last year and they were tiny - at this stage I was able to keep them in large moth pots!

Getting bigger on the 24th May.

On the 3rd June

and 16th June. It was very interesting to see how they also changed colour as they developed.

They started to pupate at the end of June and the process continued into mid-July.

Here's a photo of one of the cages I used to rear the caterpillars - now full of pupae. Sorry about all the kitchen paper - its an attempt to keep out any predators such as spiders!

At the moment they are still outside in the coal house but I will bring them indoors in mid-April, put them in a new large "cage" and start spraying them with tepid water each day. Hopefully, they will then start emerging at the same time as the wild population. The person who gave me the caterpillars has advised that they need a cage with mesh sides so that the freshly emerged moths can crawl up the sides and dry their wings. Initially, B was going to make something but when I looked into the price of cages on the internet we decided it would be almost as cheap to buy one.

So here's the new "cage" - rather OTT I am afraid!! but luckily it folds flat when not in use so won't take up too much room. I've bought the cage mainly because the adult moths are large with wingspans up to 41 mm and once they start emerging I will need a cage where they can fly around until I take them to the release site (where there is already a resident population). I also plan to put a female in the "cage" in the garden in the hope that if there is a population near to where I live the males will be attracted to the pheromones the female produces and will visit the garden.

I've recently bought an interesting little book from NHBS on the Nature of God's Acre Project. Its entirely different from the Francesca Greenoak book (which is one of my favourites) but if you are interested in wildlife in churchyards its well worth buying (its only £4.99 plus postage and packing). The project explored the relationship between the spiritual and natural value of churchyards. Churches in Sussex were sent questionnaires on wildlife found in their churchyards and the value visitors put on this. The book details the results of the survey with a section on each of the churches and their churchyards that participated. Its a pity I don't live nearer to Sussex but I am really enjoying reading the book and it is full of interesting information that can be related to your own local churchyards.

Thanks so much for your good wishes by the way - apart from E who was the last to go down with the virus, we are all a lot better and had a day out locally today which I think was just what we all needed.

Emperor Moth Caterpillar Update

Only one of the Emperor Moth caterpillars had pupated by the time we went on holiday so the tank of caterpillars came along on holiday with us ( much to husband's disgust!!). About twenty pupated whilst we were away and there are just a few caterpillars left now on the verge of pupating.

The pupation process is fascinating to watch. The caterpillar stops eating and moving around before slowly spinning a cocoon (which looks rather like brown candle-floss) around itself. The caterpillar appears to shrink in size and curl itself up. Gradually over the course of a few days the cocoon hardens and becomes more solid.

These caterpillars started spinning the cocoon last night and this is what they look like this morning.

I've provided twigs propped up to encourage them to pupate away from the floor of the cage but unfortunately most are pupating on the floor of the cage in amongst bramble leaves. They also seem to have the habit of pupating alongside each other. I suspect this caterpillar is about to join them.

Here's one that did get it right - this is the one that first pupated before we went on holiday.

I'll place them all in a predator proof container and leave them in the garage to overwinter. If all goes well the adult moths should emerge next Spring.


I haven't had chance to put out the moth trap since we returned from holiday but I did find this Cabbage Moth in the garage last night (new for year)

I also saw my first Green-veined White in the garden yesterday laying eggs on my sweet peas!



Whilst we were away I treated myself to a rather lovely mug covered not only in butterflies

but moths too :)

I'll try and do another post on the holiday later today covering a visit to Tyneham and Lulworth Cover/Durdle Dor together with a rather special visitor to the cottage garden!

Maxstoke Castle, Emperor Moth caterpillar update, A Spitfire flypast and a Ringlet

We went along to Maxstoke Castle last weekend - there is just the one Open Day a year. The weather wasn't very good - it rained on and off throughout the visit - any smudgy marks on the photos are a result of raindrops on the lens!!

Maxstoke Castle is a fortified manor house or castle built around 1345 by Sir William de Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon - who also built the nearby Maxstoke Prior. One hundred years later the castle was partially re-modelled by the Earl of Stafford. At the end of the sixteenth century it became the property of Sir Thomas Dilke and, apart from short periods of time, the castle has remained in the hands of the Dilke (later Fetherston-Dilke) family who still live there today.

The castle is made of red sandstone and today there remains a restored medieval gatehouse, curtain wall and angle towers.

Richard III visited the castle in 1485 on his way north to Nottingham and subsquently on to his death at the Battle of Bosworth.

The Courtyard Garden

We had a look round the inside of the house (no photos allowed) but you can tour the Banqueting Hall, the Oak Drawing Room (with its rather mysterious and ornately carved Whispering Door) and the Library.

We then walked around the outside of the house following the moat walk - roses were clambering all over the walls.

Valerian and Ivy-leaved Toadflax had managed to grow in cracks between the building stones.

At this stage we visited the refreshment tent where last year we had the most delicious cake - but horrors of horrors they had sold out!!! If we go next year we'll go a lot earlier!!

So onwards to the pleasure gardens

There is a lovely meadow and woodland walk with lots of wildflowers flourishing.

Ox-eye Daisies

Is this a Handkerchief Tree?

Views of the castle and moat

Ice House

Glade of Foxgloves

A vegetable garden, tennis court and more herbaceous borders were our last port of call.

Anyone for tennis?

Close by was this wonderful "white" border - could just imagine relaxing here with a Pimms after a game of tennis!!

Herbaceous Border

Astrantia again - just love this plant. I managed to buy one from Coughton Court but they only had the dark pink variety available and I must admit I do like this creamy white/pinky colour.

The Emperor Moth caterpillars are now 5 weeks old and requiring about 5 top-ups of bramble/hawthorn leaves a day. In fact, I have come to the conclusion they never stop munching not even to sleep. I have to admit I will be a little relieved when they pupate which could be any day now. Note their nice new cage!!! Although really there are that many of them I should have bought two!

Last night we went along to Birmingham International Airport as a Spitfire which had been displaying at the nearby Belfry Hotel and Golf course was due to make a brief flypast.

We went a walk along a public footpath near a place called Castle Hills (not far from the Shadowbrook Meadows reserve I visited recently) where you can get a good view of the runway.

The spitfire was due to fly along the runway in a north to south direction i.e. towards us but lo and behold it flew from south to north and I just managed to get this record shot - not helped by shooting into the sun!!!

And here it is again disappearing rapidly from view.

Just as we were leaving I spotted my first Ringlet butterfly of the year in a hedgerow.