An elaborate cheesecloth chamber contains 56 Saturniidae silk moth cocoons. After each moth emerges from its individual eclosion berth, he or she will crawl out, climb up a ladder, and hang while his or her wings inflate with fluid. Then the females release a pheromone to call the males, while the males fly around using their larger antennae to locate the females for mating. They hang paired for twenty-four hours, while the female’s hundreds of eggs are fertilized. Then the female lays her eggs and they rest. They only live for 5-7 days. The eggs of each species hatch after different periods and feed on the leaves of the cherry tree.

A record of the collaboration covers one wall: drawings, notes, emails, research, images, test materials, receipts all document the communication, creation, materialization, and imagination of the process.

As each moth dies, they are taxidermied and put with their cocoon onto a shelf. There is a station with all materials and notes on the process sitting by the wall. Observations on the installation over its 3 week span by viewers and artists cover an adjacent wall.

Polyphemus (34)
Antheraea Polyphemus
Appearance: Up to a six inch wingspan. The upperside is reddish to yellowish brown with a pink, or black and pink details. The transparent oval eyespots are ringed with yellow, blue, and black. The underside has rust, brown, and pink markings. The female has much smaller antennae than the males.
Eclosion time: approximately 21-28 days
Time of day to emerge: early afternoon
Scenting time: 10 p.m. – 1 a.m., again just before dawn
Flight: after dusk (females seldom fly after mating)

Promethea (12)
Callosamia promethea
Appearance: Wingspan is 2 15/16 to 3 3/4 inches. Males are somewhat smaller than females. Male body is black; wings are black with and pink markings. Female wings are dark brown to reddish-brown with details.
Eclosion time: approximately 21-28 days
Time of day to emerge: noon
Scenting time: 10 p.m. – 1 a.m., again just before dawn
Flight: 4:30-8 (dusk)

Cynthia (10)
Samia cynthia
Appearance: Wingspan is 4 to 5 inches. They have pink stripes going down each wing and an overall olive green coloration. They have white/yellow crescents on all four wings.
Eclosion time: approximately 21-28 days
Time of day to emerge: late morning
Scenting time: after dusk
Flight: late afternoon/evening
Mating time: from just after sunset for 24 hours