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Green-veined White napi larvae |
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Green-veined White Pieris napi
A delicate member of the White family, with variable markings and prominent underside veining. The larvae feed on many Cruficerae with a particular liking for Jack by the Hedge Alliaria, Horseradish Armoracia rusticana, Cresses and Mustards.
Very easy to breed. Several generations are possible in a season. The pupa hibernates. Keep the pupae cool or in the fridge until April. Lay them out to emerge in May and provide the adults with nectar flowers and stems of the foodplant on which to lay.
Harmless to garden plants (they prefer wild plants), this is a species you can breed to enhance the local countryside.
Ten larvae of Green-veined White £8.95 Sent in June/July
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Painted Lady 5 larvae in Pot on Diet |
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Five Painted Lady larvae in Total Environment Pot
The five Painted Lady caterpillars live their whole life inside the see-through pot which contains all they need from birth to pupating. You need add no food. You don’t even clean them out and they look after themselves over weekends!
The larvae grow quite quickly in summer indoor conditions (never keep them in direct sunshine). The container is easily passed round a group without disturbance to the larvae.
When the larvae have finished eating, they suspend themselves from a silk pad spun on special absorbent paper in the lid. Here they cast their caterpillar skin. If you are lucky and look at the right moment you can see the actual moment of change from caterpillar to chrysalis.
Let the chrysalis harden for a couple of days, then hang the paper pinned inside a cage for the butterflies to emerge.
You can keep the butterflies for a few days in a cage with nectar flowers. Then release them into the wild where they may breed naturally in your area.
The instructions are printed above - please note them for the arrival of the larvae which are not sent with further instructions.
Available NOW
One pot of 5 Painted Lady caterpillars £10.95
Five pots of 5 Painted Lady caterpillars, for group study, £45.00
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Small Copper phlaeas larvae |
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Small Copper Butterfly Lycaena phlaeas
The larvae of this species are seldom offered. The larvae feed on common Dock and Sorrel. If kept warm they will pupate and produce butterflies again this year.
10 Small Copper larvae £10.00 July onwards
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Common Blue icarus 10 Larvae |
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The Common Blue Polyommatus icarus
This Blue is probably the most wide-spread of all the Blues. The bright sky-blue of the male is familiar to most people. The larvae feed on Birdsfoot Trefoil, Medick, Rest Harrow and other Leguminosae. Larvae are expected in July/August.
Ten Common Blue Larvae £9.95 August |
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Deathshead Hawk Atropos 1 Pack Eggs/Larvae |
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Deathshead Hawkmoth Acheronia atropos
Everyone’s favourite. An extreme rarity, migrating to Britain from Africa. Occasionally the larvae are found in potato fields but that’s if you are lucky and these days with modern machinery the chances of larvae being found are even more remote. The larvae feed on many plants in the potato family, Solanaceae, but you don’t have to have these to keep the larvae, they do well on Privet. The duration of the egg stage is just a few days, and the larvae grow probably twice as fast as our native hawkmoth larvae, completing their life cycle in as little as 4-6 weeks in summer temperatures. These larvae will produce another generation of moths within weeks of pupation, but you can keep them cool in the winter months, and have them emerge in spring. The moth is just amazing to have alive on your hand! It is furry, and squeaks – almost like handling a little mammal. It also humps its back and displays the blue markings on the body, as well as the famous skull and crossbones on the thorax. The moth needs to feed, not from flowers but from a pad soaked in weak honey or sugar solution. Moths have been found inside beehives, attracted by the sweet smell of honey.
Supplies expected in May
Deathshead Hawkmoth 15 eggs or 10 larvae according to availability £10.95
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Privet Hawk Sphinx ligustri 10 larvae |
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Privet Hawkmoth Sphinx ligustri larvae
A real favourite! These are quite one of Britain’s largest and grandest caterpillars. They are easy to rear on Privet, Lilac or Ash. The large pupae are formed underground. Store the pupae for emergence next summer.
15 eggs or 10 larvae according to availability Privet Hawk, £8.95. June/July
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Elephant Hawk elpenor 10 larvae |
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Elephant Hawk Dielephila elpenor eggs/larvae
A most attractive and easy species to rear. The larvae like Willowherb best but also feed on Fuschia, Virginia Creeper, Vine and Bedstraw. Fast-growing, the larvae have two colour forms, starting green they change to black, or a lovely green form, the green being the rarest. The larvae pupate amongst leaf litter on the ground, and emerge next spring as one of the most beautiful of all hawkmohths.
Elephant Hawk 15 eggs or 10 larvae according to availability £8.95 June/July |
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Small Elephant Hawk porcellus eggs/larvae |
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Small Elephant Hawk Dielephila porcellus eggs/larvae
Very seldom can we offer eggs and larvae of this brilliantly coloured and delicate little Hawkmoth. The larvae are miniatures of the Elephant Hawk. The best foodplant is Bedstraw Gallium, any species, though Willowherb is sometimes an alternative. Don’t miss this opportunity of rearing the Small Elephant Hawk this year.
Sent in May/June
Small Elephant Hawk eggs (15) or 10 larvae, according to availability at time of order £10.95 |
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Spurge Hawk H euphorbiae larvae |
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Spurge Hawk Hyles euphorbiae
The dormant pupae are kept cool for the winter. Adults emerge in June/July. Provide nectar flowers and potted Spurge plants for egg-laying. The best Spurges are Cypress Spurge (cyparissias), Wood Spurge, Sea Spurge, and the annual Sun or Petty Spurges are all suitable. Eggs are laid in clutches near the tips. The young larvae are black and cluster. Soon they take on amazing spots and stripes of yellow, red, white and green. Some of the most colourful larvae in the world.
Larvae ready June/July
Ten larvae Spurge Hawk £12.95
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Oleander Hawk nerii eggs |
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Oleander Hawk Daphnis nerii
One of the finest of all Hawkmoths. The larvae are very fast growing indeed and they consume a lot of food. Apart from Oleander Nerium, the larvae thrive on Periwinkle Vinca, and can usually be reared on Privet Ligustrum.
We have breeding stock now. Larvae have pupated and eggs are now expected in March.
Oleander Hawk 15 eggs £12.95
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Convolvulous Hawk convolvuli larvae |
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Convolvulous Hawkmoth Herse convolvuli
Huge caterpillars: fascinating to rear. The pupa has a curious proboscis, like a jug handle. Feeds at dusk, tobacco plants, petunia, lillies and phlox. Foodplants Convolvulus, Field Bindweed, Hedge Bindweed, some Morning Glories. There is a great demand for this species, so please book early.
10 Convolvulous Hawk Larvae £12.95 September
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American Ailanthus Moth advena eggs/larvae |
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American Ailanthus Moth Philosamia cynthia advena
This richly coloured moth in shades of olive and ochre, has become very difficult to obtain of late. The larvae thrive on Privet and Ailanthus. Gregarious when young, they start yellow and change to powdery white, with black spotting. Usually single brooded, the moths emerge next spring.
Eggs supplied in June/July
15 eggs or 10 larvae according to availability £7.95 |
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