Brown Cocoon to stunning Metallic Blue Moth: Peach Tree Borer cocoon opening, emergence, and mating!

Описание: After seeing what looked like a male Peach Tree Borer flying around, I looked in the pot of our little tree and saw a pupal casing popping up. I quickly started digging to see if I could find more, and after a while, I did! A round, brown object was dug up in a clump of dirt. This was the cocoon of the Peach Tree Borer - made of silk, dirt, and frass.


I removed the clumps and picked up the cocoon. Using scissors, I carefully opened it up to reveal the pupa inside! The pupa was transparent with the moth's colors showing through, meaning it would soon emerge. As I was cutting, the pupa started slowly moving and emerged from the top of the cocoon! This is how it gets closer to the surface of the soil so that the moth can come out. I knew the moth was definitely ready to emerge any minute now, so I hurried up and finished cutting and removed the pupa from the cocoon.

I quickly set up and a few minutes later the beautiful female Peach Tree Borer emerged! She didn't need to hang to expand her wings - the flat surface of the top of my hand was just fine for her. She closed them once she was finished pumping them up, then opened them a few minutes later. Just look at that STUNNING metallic blue! I know these are said to be a pest but they're just... SO beautiful! 😍


The next day, the enclosure containing the newly emerged female from the previous night was taken outside. As soon as I grabbed my camera and came back out, a male had already shown up was was eagerly buzzing around it! I opened the enclosure and after hovering around a bit the male quickly attached to the female and started mating. Wow! Amazing view of the sexual dimorphism between them - larger female metallic blue with an orange band and transparent hindwings, smaller male black/grey with yellow stripes and both sets of wings transparent. Very wasp-looking!


When they stopped mating, I took some close-up shots of the male individually, then released them both. What a cool experience! #moths #peachtreeborer #beautifulmoth #amazing


00:00 - 00:52 Peach Tree Borer cocoon found
00:52 - 03:06 Opening up the cocoon, pupa prepares to emerge
03:07 - 03:29 Any second now...
03:30 - 05:10 Emergence
05:11 - 07:33 Wing Expansion
07:34 - 09:10 Wings closed
09:11 - 10:05 Wings slowly spread & open up
10:06 - 12:23 Beautiful newly emerged female Peach Tree Borer
12:24 - 14:42 Mating behavior
14:43 - 15:37 Male Peach Tree Borer
15:38 - 15:59 Female takes off after mating/Thanks for watching!