elephant hawk moth caterpillar home?

[Sally1967]

I am so glad to have found this site about Elephant hawk moth, my daughter and I have named him George. So is there anyway to figure out if they are male or female? Maybe we have a Georgette. ahhaha. So we have George in a container right now but going to transplant him tomorrow to a bigger home, so we need soil and some grass I understand, and should we spray the inside of the container with timpid water? If he/she burrows in the soil it wont hatch(is that what it is called) until next year???? How is that so? If that is true that is amazing. So its okay to keep George in a container for a year? I hope someone can help me with George. Thanks so much.

Sally

[Mell0116]

I was going to ask the same questions as everyone else, so thank you all for pre empting me :-) ours is living in and eating our large fushia bush and seems to be thriving. I have never seen a catapillar so big as this one, but I have seen the actual Moth in our garden every year for the last 3 years. They are beautiful and I really do not like moths.
I am going to leave Fred where he is and hope he survives.

[Sally1967]

Good Afternoon,
So is it right that if i get the soil that my Elephant hawk moth will burrow itself and stay there until next year? And will it be fine inside my home in a container in soil? Does it need anything while under the soil all those months. Could someone give me some information. Thanks.

Sally

[ael]

Can anyone offer a good home to an elephant hawk moth caterpillar? I'm renting a house in Milton Keynes and my fuscia plants have somehow attracted eight of the critters.
Problem is, I'm not sure the plants can survive long enough to keep them all alive, and even if they do I won't be here long enough to see them through to next year - by which point the new tenants may dig up the soil before they get to become beautiful moths. Advice welcome!

[2dogs2000]

Originally Posted by Sally1967

Good Afternoon,
So is it right that if i get the soil that my Elephant hawk moth will burrow itself and stay there until next year? And will it be fine inside my home in a container in soil? Does it need anything while under the soil all those months. Could someone give me some information. Thanks.

Sally

Once it has burrowed under the soil it will pupate. It won't need feeding but it must be kept outside in a shed or garage otherwise it will emerge too soon. It will need sticks to climb onto when it emerges and they should be in the container ready for this.

[Mell0116]

A quick update on Fred, he is growing still and I could not find him this morning first thing, I have just been out again and found him. So all is well Apart from the fushia bush sustaining some serious damage but it will grow back next year and it will be worth it if he survives the winter.

[kazandy]

hi im new and couldnt work out how to post my question so joined in here , i had an elephant hawk moth in its catterpillar state a week and a half ago i put it in a container with compost and fusia leaves ,its now changed into a much smaller black grub totaly different i guess its in its beginning of changing how long does this take where should i keep it and when is it likely to emerge as moth as my grandaughters class looked at it today and would love to see the moth and let it go

[Mell0116]

Fred has now dissapeared, I hope that he has dropped to the ground and is pupating, I would not like to think that a bird has carried him off for a rather substanial supper. Heres hoping for a hatching next year.

[mirkat]

Hello... I'm new here and hope people will still see his thread! I read all of these posts last year when I found one of these caterpillars and he has just emerged this morning He is beautiful (not sure of sex but when we found him we fed him a whole fushia plant and named him Bronson!) I have put him in a wire mesh box for now as he's just airing himself on a stick... I want to keep him until tonight when my partner comes home so he can see him too and take some photos....

So here is my question... should I be giving him anything to eat/drink until tonight when we let him go? Or will he survive until then... I've been looking after him since september last year or something so I don't want him to die on me now. I have become rather attached to my little Bronson

Any info would be great! Thanks everyone.

[Dogghound]

It will be fine for the rest of the day however im afraid it has emerged too early most likely as a result of it being kept too warm over the winter. This means it is about 2 weeks early compared to other individuals emerging in the wild which usually start to emerge around May (later depending on how far north you live). This means that this individual will not be able to breed and contribute to the overall 2011 generation. Not so much of an issue here as they are quite a common species, however this is one of the dangers of keeping pupa over the winter. On an individual basis it may struggle to find sufficient nectar baring plants in the wild once you release it due to it being early in the year, as well as cold night time temperatures.