Shipping silkmoth cocoons

[myrmyst]

Hi all, I'm new to raising silkmoths and was hoping someone would help me with a question. I've raised two groups of Actias Luna, they've been cocooning for the last few days, and I wanted to send some to a friend that lives a few hours away. They have multiple broods per year in this area, so I think they'll eclose in a few weeks? I was planning on priority shipping them so that they'll arrive within three days. I'm concerned about whether or not they'd be too fragile to send. I know you can send them over the winter, but I've never sent or received them mid summer before. Does anyone have experience with this?

[kevinkk]

you should be able to tell if the larva has formed a pupa by shining a strong light through the cocoon. if you can't see it for sure, simple clock
watching will work also. My experience is that it takes about 10 days for a larva, of most Saturniidae to form a pupa after beginning it's cocoon.
If I was going to ship non-diapausing cocoons, I'd give them about 12 to 14 days before posting them. Even exotics that do not diapause, like
Actias isis, after spinning a cocoon take about 5-6 weeks to emerge, so your luna probably have a few weeks of variability.