# Moth as a... Pet?



## MothLover (Nov 14, 2013)

So about 2 weeks ago my mom found a either hibernating moth (do moths hibernate?) or a near dead moth. We brought it inside and I wanted to see if it was alive. I go overly attached since it was alive (it moved its leg) and wouldn't allow my sister to feed it to the chickens. Well today I was sitting around and I realized something was flying around - The moth! He's alive! Normally I'd release it but here's the issue :
It's 10 degrees or so, and we have about 4ft of snow. It was warmer out when we found him, so I know if I release him now he's a goner.
I don't know why I like this moth so much. But I don't want to feed him to the chickens, and I don't want him to die in the cold.
So... Can I keep a moth as a pet? Ill post a pic in a sec, but any ideas on species, & what it'd eat? How much space does it need - I don't really have an actual moth-home, so not sure where to put it. 
Thanks, I know this seems weird, haha.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

Some moths hibernate as adults (as do some butterflies) and it looks like the moth was in torpid state when you found it. Now, warmer, it has woken up. The moth needs to keep it's fat reserves through the winter, and it will use them up flying about, so you need to get it back into hibernation if you want it to survive. It should go back into the cold, in a shed or outbuilding. You can't keep them as pets really, they have a short 'active' lifespan of a few days up to a couple of weeks, but in hibernation they last much longer. Best thing is for it to hibernate normally outside, so it can find a mate in the spring. 

Do you have a photo? I could tell you which species it is.


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## furrytails (Nov 5, 2013)

i know people (one of my friends) keep butterflys as a pet so I couldn't see why you couldn't keep a moth. but i don't know about the life expectancy of a moth- the butterflys don't live very long.

If we could identify the species we could properally help more. Looking forward to the phote


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

I'm afraid it will have used up vast amounts of its energy reserves the moment it was woken up by the warmth and started flying. Best you can do is offer it a little sugar water soaked onto some cotton wool (or equivalent) and try to get the moth to walk on it so that it will sense the moisture. It will drink it up through a long 'tongue' like a straw. After that you might be able to chill it back into hibernation, but it may or may not survive. By the way, not all moths feed. Some species build up all of their energy reserves as caterpillars and do not feed at all as adult imagos. Some moths do not even have the mouthparts necessary for feeding!

Believe it or not there are moth species that are active in the winter in their adult form. They will mate and lay eggs - and often it is the eggs that will 'overwinter' to hatch in the spring. Alternatively, other species (usually late summer and autumn caterpillars) overwinter at the pupal stage.

Most likely the moth is not the stage that is hibernating - but without knowing the species I can't tell you for sure.

Where are you? Are you in the UK? Can you describe the moth? At this time of year in the UK there are several moth species active, notably the November moth(s), the epirritas, and there is also a December moth.

As for keeping a moth as a pet, at any time of year - they only have a short life span in that stage and by keeping it you are preventing it from finding a mate and contributing to the next generation. Some moth species are rare, some critically so. If you want to you can try growing a caterpillar and keeping it through pupation until it emerges - this can be very rewarding, if done properly, ie identifying the caterpillar if possible, feeding the correct food plant, providing the right materials for pupation etc.

Please post a picture if you can and I will try and identify it. There is also an excellent website called 'UK moths' (UKMoths | Guide to the moths of Great Britain and Ireland) which can help with moth and caterpillar identification. And the best book(s) are two field guides, one for macrolepidoptera (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Field-Guide...?ie=UTF8&qid=1384454484&sr=8-4&keywords=moths) and one for micros (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Field-Guide...?ie=UTF8&qid=1384454484&sr=8-9&keywords=moths)

Hope that helps!


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## MoggyBaby (Mar 8, 2011)

Well, it just goes to show how awesome this site is. I never realised there was such a wealth of knowledge here for critters that you don't fully expect folks to talk about.

I personally think moths are incredibly cute - those little faces with the beautiful big eyes - and have had to rescue a fair few in my time. From cats / dogs / light bulbs and pathetic squeally girlies all scared by the wee flying thing!! 

I've never given any thought to species or breeding seasons but, reading this thread, has made me a bit more aware.

I've also just thought - the mention of the butterflies hibernating..... We've got a butterfly high up on the wall of our hallway. It's been there now about 6-8 weeks. OH thinks it's dead but I am now wondering if it may be hibernating. Would this be possible? I can get a piccie later for you wonderful 'know stuff' people to look at.


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## Burrowzig (Feb 18, 2009)

MoggyBaby said:


> Well, it just goes to show how awesome this site is. I never realised there was such a wealth of knowledge here for critters that you don't fully expect folks to talk about.
> 
> I personally think moths are incredibly cute - those little faces with the beautiful big eyes - and have had to rescue a fair few in my time. From cats / dogs / light bulbs and pathetic squeally girlies all scared by the wee flying thing!!
> 
> ...


Most likely, it is - but it would be much better off outside where it will be less likely to dessicate. Do you have a shed or garage where it could go?


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## MoggyBaby (Mar 8, 2011)

Yes I do. It is more than welcome to reside in our shed. 

Will it be safe enough to move it and could you recommend a safe way to do this please.


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## MothLover (Nov 14, 2013)

First off, I'm SO SORRY for just leaving and never coming back, haha.

Well he woke up & flew around, and so we gave him a 'home' which was a plastic box w/ a tissue on the bottom. I couldn't get a pic of his wings open, he'd always keep them closed










I've since moved back into the shed
It's -30 out now, so if he's alive I'll be shocked.


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

Looks like a butterfly - moths tend to have antennae that look like a little tree - furry and branch like, butterflies antennae have a long stalk with a pin head sized blob on the end. We get lots of butterflies hibernating in our house over winter, we don't have any heating so they don't wake up unless they've chosen to sit in a window and we have a sunny day then they warm up and start to fly about! As others have said it would be better if you take it outside and either put it in a shed with access to the outdoors so it can cool back down again or it will use all its reserves up and die, it needs to make spring - many don't though, in order to breed the next generation of caterpillars for next summer, once they breed they die. 
They can't really be kept as pets as it will die quickly as others have said, if you go to a butterfly farm you'll see the caterpillar part of their life is the longest part, the butterfly bit is for days or a few weeks at best, nature is so amazing! You can I believe buy butterfly kits where they send the eggs to you, you look after and feed them, and you can watch the whole life cycle then let the butterflies go - they make great xmas presents for kids!


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Yep Alex is right that's a butterfly. Hopefully it didn't use up too much energy whilst awake. I'm sure if the butterfly is native to the area then it will survive the freezing temperatures, and the shed will provide some shelter for it.

Many butterfly species are protected by law, so if you want the joy of raising one yourself (or a moth caterpillar) then pick a common local species if you can. It is NOT advisable to release captive bred (ie commerically bred) species into the wild, partly because they might not even be in your area and thus you are introducing a species to a habitat it is not usually found in (or worse still a species that should not be there at all), and partly because you don't know what the makeup of that individual(s) is. You could be influencing the local gene pool, or introducing a genetic flaw or a disease carried in the captive population that is not found in the wild.

I used to breed peppered moth caterpillars as part of my degree research. We caught the wild adults using a light or pheromone trap, allowed them to mate (this was easy, just left a male with a 'calling' female for a night (ie a female advertising to a male using pheromones) and by the next morning they were normally paired. The female then laid her eggs in folded tissue, and when they hatched I had more caterpillars than I ever imagined. Of course it would be better to only keep a few eggs and let the female lay the rest naturally, or release most of the newly hatched caterpillars in that case.

Many gravid female moths lay their eggs in the moth traps and I have raised a few that way (the adults are released before they lay all their clutch!).

Or you could use food plants to attract a species and when eggs hatch you know what the caterpillar eats.


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## MothLover (Nov 14, 2013)

Ah, I see. When I was ~8 I had a caterpillar from school, but had to go to my grandmas when it was due to Come out of the pupae (or whatever it's called, I think it's pupae?) 

It'd be fun just to get a few caterpillars from around the house and raise them up to butterflies. Then at least I'd know they're local.

Which - while I have you guys here - I remember finding this caterpillar species a couple times. My mom found it & then I found it twice, both times on fireweed that looked like mites had taken over it. It was odd.


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## Acrophylla (Apr 16, 2008)

Which part of the world are you living in Moth Lover? When caterpillars are fully grown they enter the pupal stage so are pupae. Pupa is the singular of pupae. 
So a caterpillar becomes a pupa. Lots of people keep moths as pets, they can live for many months, as can some butterflies, it all depends on which species you get. :thumbup:


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

That caterpillar is a moth species called the bedstraw hawkmoth, _Hyles gallii_

Bedstraw Hawk-moth Hyles gallii - UKMoths
black caterpillar with red head and tail, yellow speckles on sides - Hyles gallii - BugGuide.Net

Apparently the caterpillars are quite variable in colour, and the spots on the sides can be much bigger too.


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## MothLover (Nov 14, 2013)

Hmm, interesting, thanks  I had never seen it prior to last summer

Acrophylla - I live in Alaska, US. 
And thanks for the clarification, lol, I'm not much of a bug person, haha.


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