Buff Ermine Eggs (1 Viewer)

[gnome]

Whilst potted up last night a Buff Ermine laid some eggs and I was wondering what to do with them. Presumably I can wait for them to hatch and then keep the caterpillars in a suitable container with the right sort of food. Looking it up on the internet, the larvae don't appear to be too fussy and will eat a wide variety of plants. Are there any tips on how to keep the eggs until they hatch (e.g. temperature & light etc.) and how long it might be before hatching? Also any tips once they've hatched would be most helpful.

TIA

Adam

 

[billsbirding]

I had the same dilemma when a female Early Thorn laid eggs in one of my pots the other autumn. I've go no experience with rearing caterpillars, nor do I have much interest in it, but I kept the pot in a dry, dark corner at room temperature, and after about 10 days (can't remember exactly), they hatched.

Pop them in a holed tupperware box and be ready to clean it every few days. I'd try and minimise overall contact with them to keep the risk of contamination low.

I gave mine a continuous supply of hawthorn leaves, but as you've mentioned, Buff Ermine is not particularly fussy- you could probably get away with just about any deciduous plant. The caterpillars usually pupate in early/mid September, and in warm conditions, could emerge later in the autumn- pop some soil/dead leaves in the bottom of the container for them to pupate in. If it's of any interest, my Early Thorn rearing thread can be found here .

Good luck with it... from what I've heard, Buff Ermine is a nice and easy species to start with!