Female: Callosamia securifera (m) x Callosamia angulifera (f)

Callosamia securifera x Callosamia angulifera courtesy of Joel Szymczyk.

Joel writes, "This morning two of my hybrid Callosamias eclosed, both females. These are the result of hand-pairing a male securifera from Dirk Bayer, Bon Secour Alabama (captive reared on sweetbay), and a female angulifera which I reared ex ova wild female (reared on tulip-tree) from here in Rehobeth, Al.

"The hybrids were reared on tulip-tree. The pair only stayed coupled for about 10 minutes. The female produced approx. 70 ova, nearly all of which were fertile. Larvae suffered heavy losses in all instars.

"There didn't appear to be any signs of disease. Each instar several larvae just stopped growing and eventually died. Six made it through to pupation. Nearly three weeks ago, a male eclosed. Unfortunately I wasn't going to have the opportunity to photograph it for a few days so I needed to zap him and get him on a board. My hope is that another male will eclose in the next couple days so I can try to get a photo of a pair together, I'll keep the females in the refrigerator for a while.

"Probably because of some variable in rearing, these hybrids are larger than either of their parents."

Callosamia securifera x Callosamia angulifera courtesy of Joel Szymczyk.

If females are barren, that may account for their larger size. Food consumption that would have gone to egg development has perhaps gone to enlarged wings. (Bill Oehlke) Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.