Sphingid females and pheromones

[kevinkk]

My copy of The Hawk Moths of North America doesn't have much information on using virgin females to attract males, has anyone
tried it with Smerinthus? I have a female cerisyi and hope to attract some local males with her. I have the pupa outdoors in a screen
box, protected from the rain so she has the best chance of emerging when the local males do. I have found the larva 2 years in a row on my Salix babylonica, and assume there is a breeding population here, although I've never found an adult when I ran my UV light at home.
This is a first for me, we don't get Saturniidae here at the beach, and trying to synchronize with wild populations that are hours away
is something I have never bothered to try.

[evra]

Yes they will come to her assuming she calls and assuming there are males flying. Exactly what the pheromone is chemically is probably unknown and the exact flight time of the males might vary though. I've found that the males of the western Smerinthus fly really late, like 1-3 AM. Good luck. I would recommend trying along a river with lots of willows/aspens.