Wintering of caterpillars

I didn't have any luck with that either. Bred Leucoma salicis, spring, summer, everything is fine, got offspring from them, caterpillars of the second age went to winter. The following spring, I took out the already dried ones.
In theory, they should spend the winter in cracks in the bark, under fallen leaves.
So, there was such an idea: on the trail. "first of all, I'll take a bigger tank, put a drainage layer (for example, pebbles) on it, blotter on top, or at least, sorry, toilet paper; on top of all this-a larger layer of earth. I will plant forage plants (young aspens/poplars/willows). Secondly, I will put pieces of bark. I will not remove the leftovers (I think that the fact that I cleaned them in the fall and transplanted the caterpillars was the main mistake, it did not allow them to adequately prepare for diapause, for example, to make a spider's nest).
And of course, keep it in conditions as close to natural as possible (for example, on a country porch; in principle, you can on the balcony, but it is still unknown how the thermal radiation from the house will affect, in addition, if the balcony is glazed, the sun turns it into a bath; you can also try using a refrigerator).
Here's the strategy
In general, I would be happy to listen to advice from people with experience of such a procedure.

NicoSander, I'm not an expert in this business, but did you maintain the soil moisture in any way? Nephilim has a good idea. Just one moment. What are your winters like? The cage will not freeze?

Here! As they say, one head is good, and the more-the better
But our winters are harsh and humidity plays an important role as always. Probably it is for the regulation of all these factors in nature that such a phenomenon as snow exists

PS.: I was visited by a brilliant idea in its simplicity-can we provide winter quarters to nature, since everything is so provided for there, and we are not yet able to reunite all the necessary conditions?

Nephilim, just a brilliant idea))))! What did I ask? Now, if you find out at least the relative temperature that the caterpillar can withstand, then you can approximately guess the temperature and put a cage with caterpillars in some certain place with a pre-known temperature.

It is better to leave the cage in the place where the caterpillar was found, and find it in the spring.

Dig a hole in the garden in the shade of the house (north side) - where the snow lies constantly and longest. Depth-50-60 cm, put a layer of drainage-expanded clay or broken brick. Put the caterpillars in baked clay pots covered with a sieve (I use homemade clay gardens that are open on both sides and covered with a sieve). Put the pots on the drain. From above, the pit is covered with boards and covered with snow. when it falls out. So you can overwinter completely different caterpillars from pigeons of the first age to quite large ones. There should be no substrate (paper, feathers, etc.) inside containers with caterpillars to avoid the appearance of mold. Satyrs can be wintered in a cereal bush. planted in a pot and covered with a sieve. The kite digs into the ground in the garden.
If you live in the mountains, you can overwinter the caterpillars in a mesh cage. buried in a rubble scree. In this case, the bears should be placed in cells made of cardboard for eggs inside a mesh cage.
Wintering caterpillars in the refrigerator is much more problematic due to the difficulty of maintaining humidity-ventilation mode. Different species tolerate it in different ways.

Thank you so much for the advice , it will be necessary to try it by next winter. Especially since I already have experience creating clay pots

A great technique for those who have their own plot, thank you! But it is a pity that it is not suitable enough for citizens. You won't dig a hole in the yard at the entrance, and not everyone has a dacha...

And if in the park somewhere, in a shady place?

In the park - a bad option. During the winter, dogs are also taken for walks in the park, and anyone will see the boards and take them for firewood, and they will start throwing garbage into the pit. This is only if there is a park in the north - that would cause half a meter of snow and not melt until spring. And then it is necessary to dig a hole directly in the snowfall, which would immediately skidded, and at night, so that no one would see and climb to check what kind of treasures are hidden there.
In my situation, it is even more difficult - first of all, I simply do not have a park in my village. Secondly, we do not have snow. Therefore, the boards will attract attention all winter, or rather, I don't think that the entire structure will last more than a day intact.
You can certainly put pots right on the balcony, but it happens that the frost will hit -10 or even lower. And in natural conditions, if the caterpillars are in the soil, then it never sinks so low there. So I'm afraid that the balcony will freeze.
I have satyr caterpillars wintering on a grass bush on my balcony right now. Let's see if they overwinter.

Good health, colleagues.
On the balcony, it is worse not only because of the temperature, but also in the pit, the humidity is higher. However, if satyrs spend the winter in pots with grass and earth (which can be wetted through a hole in the bottom, but not too much), then all the bundet is great.
Okoem, and sho for satyrchik? I have successfully wintered on a glazed loggia without heating Kanrtisa circe, Pseudochazara alpina, Erebia medusa, E. aethiops, E. graucasica, Mynois dryas. It is better to keep on sown cereals (steepest of all fescue and hedgehog team). But the garden technique that sho described to you above is much better-tested.

I have a caterpillar scoops died during wintering... Now the caterpillar of strelchatki-bunny lies without wintering, it seems to be alive! And what will happen if she is simply not allowed to spend the winter!?

I once read an article in the Entomological Review on the transition of insects to a state of diapause, unfortunately I don't remember the author and the exact title of the article. The article stated that preparation for the state of diapause begins due to a combination of 2 factors - the length of daylight and temperature, but if these conditions are violated, physiological adjustment does not occur and the insect dies during wintering. Maybe the problems with wintering caterpillars occur just because of this? Perhaps you need to keep cages with caterpillars in daylight conditions and temperatures close to natural ones, for example, on the balcony, and only then send the caterpillars for the final wintering?

The balcony is usually warmer, as hot water pipes, heating, and heat from the room heat up the balcony and its walls! So the temperature there is quite different from the street! Dacha, or some kind of forest park!

Anthrenus, you have the right idea. Although such ashchushchenie, sho with sailboats and waabche do not play a role. My friend grew a bunch of maaks (500 pieces) in the room at a temperature of +30C with artificial lighting for less than 15-16 hours and in June they all went into diapause-100% practically...
Gardiner, in my opinion, had about the violation of diapause in his famous book on breeding saturnium. Yes, and Solntseva article in the network hangs.
Tyomochkin. I think it is necessary either to cool the caterpillar at least for the night, or to feed it, otherwise it will hit the oak tree... And on the balcony, even glazed and on the south side, satyrs, for example, many winter, and nothing. Night cold (coolness) is enough in winter. They usually feed on slegonets, but not all species. Pseudochazara nukatli finally does not want to eat and grow before wintering, but P. pelopea-fly...

For the second year in a row, I have been sending bear caterpillars and raspberry cocoonworms to winter. Everything is very simple. When they stop eating, I grab the ice cream tray. There is 1.5 cm of wet sawdust and up to the top with some leaves. I run the caterpillars under the leaves, close the tray (there are holes in the lid with an awl), wrap it with a rag and put it in the locker, on the balcony. Yes, it's glazed. I get it in the spring, survival rate is almost 100%.

This year I found a caterpillar of C. cossus, in the middle of July, put a layer of sawdust in the container, it buried itself there and curled up in a circle, I don't know, it can come out... regularly moistened with a little sawdust...
where, by the way, is it better to leave the container, at home on the balcony or in the country in the garage?

Yes, I am also very concerned about what to do with COSSUS!

I usually put kossuses in the refrigerator under the freezer (t - +2 -+5) and kept it there until March, then took it out. And nothing, they were displayed as cute, and very quickly, sometimes after three weeks.

I recently also found kossus, while he is in a jar with earth and sawdust on the balcony, then when it freezes I will put it in the refrigerator until spring.

 
Okoem, and sho for satyrchik?

I haven't looked into the topic for a long time, so I answer with some delay ;-)
Satyr - Triphysa phryne. Of the six caterpillars, three survived.

Well, how did you get hooked up?

Well, how did you get hooked up?

Two of the three.

in total-two out of six. namana basically....

To the post of September 24... I brought the jar with the caterpillar of the woodworm into the apartment and forgot to put it back on the balcony. On October 19, it was discovered and it turned out that the caterpillar not only pupated, but also hatched a butterfly!!! There was no diapause, the temperature was constantly above +5 (on the balcony), and even more so in the apartment. Thus, the woodworm probably does not need to undergo diapause at the last caterpillar age... Unfortunately, the butterfly is somewhat wiped off...

In the summer of 1974, I found and reared a Cerura vinula caterpillar. Pupating, she lived with me without any room "in the cold" in the fall of 1974, winter 1974-1975, spring, summer and autumn 1975, winter 1975-1976, and the butterfly (quite normal) hatched from the pupa only in May 1976!

Can someone else advise something about wintering caterpillars? I have in particular an oak-leaved cocoonworm.

Can someone else advise something about wintering caterpillars? I have in particular an Oak-leaved cocoonworm.

Increase the light day, then it will not fall into diapause, very often butterflies of this genus are bred without diapause.