After a long winter rest tucked away somewhere deep in the heart of your refrigerator, it's now time to take your cocoons out and prepare them for that big day......... the day when you get to see them hatch! After removing them from the fridge, look them over really good, and give them a gentle shake....... and live ones will have some weight to them, and you will notice perhaps the pupa inside shaking back and forth with a dull "thud"...... almost like there's a marble in there or something! Active species like Luna will sometimes gyrate wildly inside the cocoon all by themselves - with very little prompting from YOU! (A word about shaking cocoons: Normally it does little harm, but in a freshly-spun cocoon this can be deadly to the pupa within! When the caterpillar sheds its final skin - thus revealing the pupa - it is very delicate at this time....... and any sudden jarring can easily rupture it!). A TIP: Concerning breeding your moths, you'll notice how your cocoons of the same species will vary a little in weight. As a rule, the heavier ones will be your females, and the lighter ones will be the males, since the females come "fully loaded" with eggs, and will later mate the day they hatch! So here's your tip! Remove your heavier pupae from cold storage a week before your lighter ones are taken out, since males are programmed to hatch out sooner. This little trick usually brings both out together, so your chances of breeding increase greatly! One of the coolest setups I've seen is a bed sheet hung on the wall with thumb tacks, and the cocoons were taped (or pinned) to this, and the lower two feet of the sheet spread out onto the floor, because when they hatch, all pupae will produce liquid "gunk" (extra leftover liquid substance) that can quickly make a mess at hatching time...... and the moth will also squirt a stream of similar substance when picked up, disturbed, or grabbed for the first time, and the sheet will catch this liquid before it hits the floor (or the wall!). Don't worry, as your moths that hatch will remain there thru the day, and will not move until the nighttime comes, so keep this in mind so you don't have a "surprise visitor" flying around your living room light! Anyways when a moth hatches, it will either remain there on the sheet, or will crawl to a nearby cocoon to hang and dry it's wings. It's best to leave them well alone during hatching, since disturbance can cause them to fall/crawl off............ and rule number ONE is they need to be able to hang from an object that's taller than they are, so their wings can expand. Perhaps the best setup is a wooden frame screen cage, and rule number TWO is they need a coarse substance to climb/hold onto, and for this, a screen cage is perfect! You'll soon discover that most of them will crawl to the top, and hang inside the lid..... so it's best to remember to set the cage on it's side, so the top will be free for them to hang on! You'll also want to keep your spray bottle handy, since the cocoons will need sprayed at least once a week, since some may delay hatching for a month or more after their removal from the fridge. (A note: Outdoor storage is fine for native species.......... but you are taking your chances here! Squirrels, rats, and countless other hungry critters out there are always on the lookout for winter cocoons........ and your collection would be quite a delicacy, and the damage usually isn't noticed until its too late! It's best to store them indoors!). "What am I going to do with all those moths"?? A good question! It's best - if you have several dozen or more - to mount a few of the best ones for your own collection, and breed a couple pairs, release the males afterwards, and keep the females for the eggs, and you'll STILL have plenty left!