Both sexes, being wary and rapid, erratic fliers, are difficult to net on the wing. Females lay oblong white eggs, which hatch in 11-30 days, singly or in small bunches on the host plants. The young caterpillars feed from the underside of host leaves. First instar photo courtesy of Peter J. Bryant . Eclosions can be successfully delayed by keeping cocoons dry and around 50-55 F from fall spinning time until desired eclosion time.
Moths emerge as early as nine days out of cocoon cold-storage.
Sumac serves as a good alternate food in regions where manzita does not grow. Cocoon photo by Dan MacKinnon. It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.