Flight cages

[Guest AlexW]

After burrowing through youtube vids, butterfly-related sci-pdfs (to no success), and some Manduca research, it appears that Manduca and some other sphinx moths can somehow manage to fly and hover properly indoors as long as there is enough space, but are still somewhat prone to banging their heads against lights under certain conditions, similarly to how houseflies can fly in houses but also crash and get stuck near windows sometimes.

Survey: Experiences with captive insects that fly voluntarily (not from fear/distress) are appreciated. What was the enclosure size, how was it designed, and did the insect appear to fly in a "normal" manner? @Hisserdude, what does your Gyna flight behavior look like in the cage? Can they maneuver and land on branches without touching the sides, or do they engage in bouts of "flap-enduponwall-flap-enduponwall" like fruitflies and moths?

 

 

[Hisserdude]

1 hour ago, Guest AlexW said:

Survey: Experiences with captive insects that fly voluntarily (not from fear/distress) are appreciated. What was the enclosure size, how was it designed, and did the insect appear to fly in a "normal" manner? @Hisserdude, what does your Gyna flight behavior look like in the cage? Can they maneuver and land on branches without touching the sides, or do they engage in bouts of "flap-enduponwall-flap-enduponwall" like fruitflies and moths?

My Gyna enclosures aren't really big or tall, they are gallon container from the Dollar Tree with holes poked in them, and I don't give them any hides besides leaf litter and substrate, since that seems to give them all the hiding places they need. So since the enclosure isn't all that big, and there are only a few inches of airspace above the substrate, as soon as they take flight they hit a wall.