Squeaking Silk-Moth EGGS (Rhodinia fugax)

We have eggs available immediately!

Rhodinia fugax (Butler, 1877) is a fairly small-sized silk-moth species native to Japan and China, where it has multiple subspecies. The adults have a wingspan of around 6-8 cm, with males occurring in rich browns and females in yellows with beautiful orange-brown markings and large bodies full of eggs. These moths emerge during autumn or early winter (depending on the region) when they will mate and lay eggs during their short lifespan of around a week. The eggs are very robust, remaining dormant over the winter period and only hatching in the spring once temperatures rise and host plants regain their foliage. In captivity, store the eggs in a tupperware container in a fridge until your local host plants are in leaf - usually around April in the UK - the caterpillars will then hatch around 10-14 days after removal from cold storage. The caterpillars are colourful in all stages, with two noticeable forms (one with more black colouration and the other almost totally green). Easy to rear, they grow to a decent size, comparable to our own Emperor moth (Saturnia pavonia), before spinning a bright, neon yellow-green cocoon suspended from host plant stems. Typically, they will remain in this state for 2-3 months until temperatures begin to cool and days shorten again, a cue for the adults to emerge - beginning the cycle over again!

Difficulty: Easy/straightforward (3/10) as long as the eggs are cared for properly.

Host plants: Willow (Salix), Cherry (Prunus), Apple (Malus), Oak (Quercus), Hawthorn (Crataegus), and several others.

Conditions - Room temperature.

Life-cycle - Single brood with eggs that overwinter and hatch in spring.