Rearing Manducas: Care and Feeding

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1. In the larva box, place a thin wafer of artificial diet on top of the wire mesh platform and put the eggs on the paper towel under it. Don't put the eggs directly on the diet! This encourages the growth of mold, which can kill the eggs. When the eggs are ready to hatch, they are pale yellow in color. They usually hatch within 2–3 days
2. After the eggs hatch, add more diet to the box. Make sure to clean out the accumulated droppings and replace the diet daily.
3. You can raise the larvae in their original box for a few days, but soon the box may become overcrowded. This can lead to poor growth and even cannibalism! When the larvae are about an inch long, move them into individual plastic cups with ventilated lids (i.e. with punched holes). You can also use multiple larva boxes, dividing the one-inch larvae into small groups in each.
4. Change the diet, wipe excess moisture from the container, and remove feces daily. Remember, mold and bacteria can be fatal to the larvae.
5. Just prior to each larval molt, the larvae will stop eating for a brief time. This is normal behavior, and does not signify a health problem! After a few hours, the larvae will shed and resume eating.
6. During the fall and spring, temperature shouldn't be a problem. If you're comfortable, the larvae will be comfortable. During cold weather, especially at night and on weekends, low temperatures can slow growth or even kill the larvae. If temperature is a problem, you may need to provide an auxiliary heat source, such as a desk lamp.
7. Depending on the temperature, the larvae usually take about 2 weeks to develop to the wandering stage. The time it takes to reach this stage varies–these animals show the same variation that's seen in nature. Some will develop slowly, while others will complete their life cycle sooner.
8. You can recognize wanderers in several ways:
   • The dorsal heart becomes visible as a dark line along the back;
   • the insect stops eating and voids its gut contents; and
   • the insect begins to walk continuously, trampling its food and feces into mush.

9. Carefully wash and dry the wanderers, and place them in a dark place to pupate. Wrap each insect loosely in tissue or paper towels, and place them in plastic cups in a cupboard or closet. Don't allow the developing pupae to sit out–they will dry out, and few will survive to adulthood.
10. Nineteen to twenty days after wandering, place the pupae in the cage with a tomato plant and a 14 hour light/10 hour dark lighting cycle.
11. After the moths emerge, they will mate and the females will lay eggs on the tomato plant leaves and sides of the box (providing sugar-water for the moths will increase egg production). Collect these eggs and start the entire rearing process over again!