Butterfly and Moth Lifecycles

Over the past few years we have raised a number of moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) from the caterpillar, egg, or pupa stage. Some of the livestock have been found in our garden. Others have been given to us by neighbors or friends with mutual interest in moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera). This site is devoted to showing as much of the lifecycle of these and other Lepidoptera species. Many of the images are from pictures that I have received from friends worldwide that have a mutual interest in Lepidoptera lifecycles. Please note that I do not sell any livestock. This is illegal in the United States unless special permits are obtained. Check the Lepidoptera links below to find some sources for livestock. Please refer your questions on permits to these sources, as I am not an expert on the subject

This site was awarded the Butterfly WebSite Best Nature Sites Award in January 1999! Thanks goes to Rick Mikula and The Butterfly WebSite for setting up this informative site for nature lovers.			This site has also been awarded the Butterfly Site award for its family-safe and contributes to the appreciation of nature on the Internet. Awarded by TheButterflySite.com.
Also visit Osipov's for more links to Butterfly Web sites.			Rate this site!

Click on any of the pictures below to see more pictures of the moths, butterflies. and their caterpillars.

Saturniidae (North American)

Cecropia Moth	Luna Moth	Polyphemus Moth
Io Moth	Cynthia Moth	Royal Walnut Moth
Promethea Moth	Pamina Moth

Tropical Saturniidae

Atlas Moth	A. Mittrei	Ricini
Cynthia x ricini	A. hartii	African Zig-Zag
Owl Moth	Indian Moon Moth

Sphingidae

White Lined Sphinx	Death's Head Moth	Tomato Hornworm
Big Poplar Sphinx

Arctiidae

Giant Leopard Moth

Papilionidae

Black Swallowtail	Giant Swallowtail	Anise Swallowtail
Pipevine Swallowtail	Two-Tailed Tiger Swallowtail

Nymphalidae

Monarch Butterfly

Queen Butterfly

Fritillary Butterfly

Tropical Butterflies

Owl Butterfly

Updates

I have a large number of images that I need to get posted, some dating back to five or six years ago, so keep an eye on this page. Progress is slowed by a busy work schedule, so I'll post what 's new with dates:

7/7/00: Added page on the Indian Moon Moth from pictures from a friend I've had for a while.

7/2/00: Added pages on Pamina Moth, Brahmaea certhia Moth, Two-Tailed Tiger Swallowtail, Big Poplar Sphinx, and finally updated the Polyphemus Moth.

3/6/99: Added a page on the African Zig-Zag Moth.

2/7/99: Replaced some images with new and better ones, particularly in the Io Moth pages. Some of these are large images, but thery're worth the wait!

1/31/99: Added pages on the Queen Butterfly, Death's Head Moth, and Pipevine Swallowtail.

1/30/99: Added a table of contents with Javascript and Frames. Added a page on the Promethea Moth.

1/28/98: Added pictures of the A. hartii moth

12/1/97: Added pictures of the Owl butterfly

10/5/97: New pictures of mittrei and cynthia x ricini.

9/26/97: Added the Anise Swallowtail.

9/1/97: Changed the format of this page to reflect some of our new species. Added links for Giant Swallowtail, Atlas, Mittrei, Cynthia, ricini, Cynthia x Ricini, Giant Leopard Moth, Royal Walnut Moth, and an White Lined Sphinx. Added pictures of Io caterpillars

Some Lepidoptera Links

The USGS has a lot of information in Moths of North America and Butterflies of North America. These are an EXCELLENT source of images.
Bill Oehlke's site (http://www3.islandtelecom.com/~oehlkew) is arguably the best on-line resource for Saturniidae (silk moths). Also e-mail Bill at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com for information on rearing silkmoths and sphingidae and for prices for living specimens.
The Butterfly WebSite. This is Rick Mikula's site and is one of the better Web resources for information about Butterflies.
The Butterfly Site, not to be confused with the Butterfly Web Site (above) is striving to be the #1 comprehensive butterfly (and moth) information resource for all.
Mybutterflies.co.nr, Free image gallery of high quality monarch, morphos, and butterfly photos.

Butterfly & Nature Gift Store is one of the growing number of sites that sells butterflies in frames.

Neil West has a nice Web site with a catalog of species he sells.

The John Cody Gallery provides a source for prints and artwork by John Cody.

Insectnet.com has a nice classified area for trading insects, including Lepidoptera.

Electronic Resources on Lepidoptera - Butterflies and Moths has a nice list of resources.

Monarch Watch from the Univ. of Kansas is a good source of information on Monarchs, including some tips on raising Monarchs.

Pete Honl in northern Minnesota that raises Cecropias. Nice pictures of the caterpillars.

Roger Kendrick of the Department of Ecology and Biodiversity at the Univ. of Hong Kong has a nice page on Moths of Hong Kong with pictures of various species.

The Moths of Southeastern Arizona site has useful informaiton on Arizona moths. Take a look at the picture of a light trap just below the Arizona map. Very impressive!

Chuck's Butterfly Page is a nice source for images of tropical and U.S. butterflies. Very good pictures of birdwings!

The Spirogyra Butterfly Garden in San Jose, Costa Rica has a description of their program and a list of livestock they will sell. There are small pictures of the butterflies they sell.

Museo Mariposas del Mundo is a site in Argentina with a worldwide butterfly association.

Ornithoptera.net offers entomological equipment (spreading, capture, preservation equipment) and dried lepidoptera from around the world.

Raising Butterflies and Moths:

Here are some helpful hints on raising moths and butterflies:

Grow a garden with abundant amounts of nectar flowers to attract adults and food sources for their caterpillars. For example, we grow dill and parsley for Black Swallowtail caterpillars, and milkweed for Monarch caterpillars. We grow Zinnia, Aster, Butterfly bush and other nectar-bearing plants, which also happen to have very beautiful and colorful flowers.

Look for caterpillars or eggs. This takes some time and involves looking under and around the food sources. The USGS has some good information on searching for caterpillars and eggs.
Put the caterpillars in bug boxes with plenty of oxygen so the caterpillars don't suffocate. The USGS has some information on rearing caterpillars, but different species often have highly specific needs. Most will only eat specific leaves or families of plants. Where I can, I have given some information on food needs and rearing tips throughout the pages here. Bill Oehlke has lists foodplants for many species, as does the USGS moth and butterfly sites.
Feed the caterpillars daily (this is work at times, but the food must be pretty fresh).
Once the butterfly or moth hatches, provided they are a local species, we have a 48-hour rule. We keep them for 2 days or less and release them into the wild. Better to have them find a mate in the wild than die in our hands. This also enhances our chances of finding more caterpillars. Moths will mate in captivity, but we have had little success with butterflies mating and laying eggs.

If you raise any butterflies or moths, let us know about your experiences. You can contact us at the addresss below.
Address questions or comments to: Scott Henninger, scotth-AT-cse.unl.edu