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Now here's a project I've been waiting yeeeaaaars to finally do. Hell, one of my oldest memories is of me finding one of these giants as it was crawling around looking for a place to pupate. It's a caterpillar so awesome it has two names. As the moth, it's called simply the Regal Moth, and as the caterpillar, its called the Hickory Horned Devil. A sick sounding name for a pretty ridiculous looking caterpillar. I've been waiting ages for a chance at stumbling upon one of these again... but I've finally just said screw it, and taken a short-cut. While browsing around the internet, I found someone willing to sell me some Regal Moth eggs for cheap, about a dollar per egg. Given my growing lack of patience to ever find one of these again, and my increasingly hectic schedule, I finally said "screw it" and placed an order. The eggs arrived a week ago, and have started hatching.
Another fun bit of drama for this thread comes in the form of TIME. I'm leaving town in mid June. These guys are gonna take awhile to finish up as caterpillars. in fact, it could end up being just a few days short of the date I leave. I'm really gonna have to make sure these guys stay as well fed as possible otherwise I could be pretty screwed.
Are they really the largest in the world though? Honestly I don't really know haha. I tried to find some source for what the world's largest caterpillar is, but haven't had any luck. I'm pretty much just basing my claim off the fact that the Atlas Moth, the world's absolutely largest moth, has a caterpillar that's about 4.5 inches long. This guy has reports of length ranging from 4.5 to 6. He's either the biggest, or tied for the biggest. Either way he's awesome. From now on I'll be posting updates on these critters.
ON WITH THE THREAD:
4/21:
Since the eggs arrived, having apparently been laid 3 days earlier. They're bright yellow and it kinda looks like I can see into them, a dramatic change from the eggs of the Luna Moth, Cecropia, and Polyphemus eggs, which were all much harder looking and offering absolutely zero visibility.
Another fun bit of drama for this thread comes in the form of TIME. I'm leaving town in mid June. These guys are gonna take awhile to finish up as caterpillars. in fact, it could end up being just a few days short of the date I leave. I'm really gonna have to make sure these guys stay as well fed as possible otherwise I could be pretty screwed.
Are they really the largest in the world though? Honestly I don't really know haha. I tried to find some source for what the world's largest caterpillar is, but haven't had any luck. I'm pretty much just basing my claim off the fact that the Atlas Moth, the world's absolutely largest moth, has a caterpillar that's about 4.5 inches long. This guy has reports of length ranging from 4.5 to 6. He's either the biggest, or tied for the biggest. Either way he's awesome. From now on I'll be posting updates on these critters.
ON WITH THE THREAD:
4/21:
Since the eggs arrived, having apparently been laid 3 days earlier. They're bright yellow and it kinda looks like I can see into them, a dramatic change from the eggs of the Luna Moth, Cecropia, and Polyphemus eggs, which were all much harder looking and offering absolutely zero visibility.
