Eclosure: The First Cecropia
Posted by Mary in 
During the last few days, the larger cecropia pupa gave several signs eclosure was imminent. It began moving more. The pupa shell became fragile and paper-thin as the moth prepared to leave, and the abdomen swelled. By early Friday I was sure the cecropia would be out over the weekend. This morning, it turned itself in circles and periodically did what looked like sit-ups or crunches into the early afternoon. Just as I was starting to think it wouldn’t come out until tomorrow, I looked into the box after stepping out of the room briefly and saw six red legs flailing at the air. The little guy crawled up the paper towels to the top of the box and edged his way around the entire perimeter before settling in one spot to expand his wings.
Moths hang vertically to expand their wings, but I’ve turned these pictures 90° or 180° for ease of viewing:
Freshly eclosed, looking damp and disheveled!
He crosses his front legs while his wings begin to uncurl and fill out.
He leans to one side, then the other as everything gets into place.
Handsome and ready to go!
He continued to rest in the same spot for several hours until the evening, when I decided to try some very gentle interaction. I put my hand in front of him but let him decide what to do. He slowly lifted one foot onto my fingers, then a second and third. I was about to leave him be when he flopped up onto my hand and went for a stroll halfway up my arm, batting his wings against me all the way. Turns out little moth feet pinch slightly – not enough to cause pain, but you wouldn’t miss one of these critters landing on your bare skin.
I let him step off in the safety of a large, fine mesh laundry basket with a frame. It affords him enough room to fly around a little while preventing him from slamming into anything dangerous. Before he settled in and let me close the lid, though, he took a spin around the room and managed to land squarely in one end of an upright cardboard tube I had propped against the wall. I scooped him up and returned him to the basket, where he will be spending the first night under the cover of a black tablecloth to block out any artificial light that might get him excited. I may try to come up with something larger still in the future.
I am so delighted to see one of my cocoons make it safely to adulthood and have high hopes for the others. For now, I have named this moth Cedric, and I’ll be taking many pictures of him!
