Saturniidae - Tumblr Posts
Moth of the Week:
Rosy Maple Moth
Dryocampa rubicunda
First described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793, this moth is part of the Saturniidae family. This family is better known as the great silk moth family. However, these moths are the smallest of the silk moths. They get their name from their preferred host plants: maple trees.
Description One difference between males and females are males have larger antennae to sense female mating pheromones. Both share pink antennas, undersides, and legs. Body and wing colors range from yellow, pink, white, and cream. As caterpillars they are green.
Female wingspan: 3.8 - 5 cm (1.5 - 2 in)
Male wingspan: 4.3 - 4.4 cm (1.25 - 1.75 in)
Diet and Habitat The rosy maple moth feeds on red maples, sugar maples, silver maples, box elder maples, and turkey oaks. The caterpillars eat the entire leaf and can even defoliate entire trees, however the damage isn’t usually permanent. Adult moths have no mouths so they do not eat. Rosy maple moths are found on the Atlantic coast of the United States and eastern Canada. Their northernmost reach includes Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Their southernmost reach is Dade County, Florida. They extend west from eastern Texas to Minnesota. Caterpillars live in temperate forests by suburban and urban landscapes
Mating Adult moths are solitary besides mating. During the warmer months, females release pheromones at night to attract males then lay eggs 24 hours after mating. Usually females lay eggs once a season, but they can lay up to 3 times in souther regions. In these cases, rosy maple moths are polyandrous, meaning they will have multiple mating partners. Females lay eggs on the underside of the leaves of the host trees in groups of 10 to 40 eggs.
Average amount of eggs laid: 150 - 200
Predators The predators of these moths are birds like blue jays, tufted titmice, and black-capped chickadees. To prevent predation, this moth uses bright colors to trick predators into thinking it is poisonous. Additionally, the colors help the moth camouflage itself by blending in with the maple seed cases.
Fun Fact Rosy maple moths can’t hear sounds.
(Source: Wikipedia and Animal Spot)
Moth of the Week
Atlas Moth
Attacus atlas
This moth is a part of the Saturniidae family, or the family of great silk moths and royal moths. This moth was first described by Carl Linnaeusin 1758. The atlas moth is of of the largest species in the Lepidoptera order, the order of insects for butterflies and moths
Description An atlas moths has a small body and large wings.
Wingspan: 24 cm (9.4 in)
Wing surface area: 160 cm (≈25 in2)
The upper surface of the wings are maroon, black, white, pink, and purple with four triangular outlines in black. These outlines border a translucent part of the wings where there are no scales, the tips of the moth’s forewings resemble snakes to scare off predators.
Common traits of most Lepidoptera:
Females are larger than males
Males have larger antennae
Diet and Habitat Atlas moths are native to dry rainforests, secondary forests, and shrublands in Southern and Eastern Asia. Atlas moth caterpillars eat the leaves of citrus fruits, willows, cinnamon trees, guava trees, and Jamaican cherry trees. Adult moths do not have mouths and no not eat.
Mating For mating, a female moth will release pheromones which the male moths decent with their antennae. A female moth will lay 200 to 300 eggs on the underside of the leaves the caterpillars eat. It takes about 2 weeks for the eggs to hatch.
Predators The main predators do these moths are lizards and birds. The moth’s wings are patterned to look like snakes’ heads to scare off predators.
Fun Fact Atlas moths only live for 5 to 7 days because they live off of energy stored as a caterpillar.
(Source: Wikipedia, Animal Spot, and California Academy of Sciences)
Moth of the Week
Polyphemus Moth
Antheraea polyphemus
This moth is another member of the Saturniidae family, or the great silk moth family. The Polyphemus moth gets its name from the eyespots on its wings and the Greek myth of the cyclops Polyphemus. This species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1776.
Description Polyphemus moths come in many varying shades of brown and gray with pink, white, and black accents. These accents are called the “ante-medial” and “post-medial” lines on the forewings while the hindwings have only the “post-medial” lines. Along the lower edges of both the forewings and the hindwings, called the “outer margin,” is a large band which may vary in color based on the moth but is usually a lighter shade than the rest of the wing. Despite differences in color, all Polyphemus moths have four yellow and black eyespots, 2 on the forewings and 2 on the hindwings. The hindwings’ eyespots are more prominent than the ones on the forewings, being larger and having a thicker outline. The centers of the spots are transparent.
Average Wingspan: 15 cm (6 in)
Females have larger bodies for egg laying
Males have large antennae to detect female pheromones (type: quadripectinate, comb-like)
Diet and Habitat The larvae eat the leaves of beech trees, birch trees, oak trees, maple trees, willow trees, and a large range of other trees. Adult moths have smaller mouths and do not eat.
These moths have a very large habitat range, being found in all of continental North America, except for northern Canada, Nevada, and Arizona. The eggs are laid in deciduous hardwood forests, wetlands and orchards.
Mating When the female moths release their mating pheromones, males can fly miles to find them. Mating usually occurs at night in early summer and lasts 24 hours. Once finished, a female will lay 100 to 300 eggs, which the caterpillars will hatch from in 10 days.
Predators Polyphemus moth caterpillars, larvae, and pupae are prey to yellowjackets, ants, raccoons and squirrels. Adult moths use the owl like eyespots on their wings to scare off predators.
Fun Fact The Polyphemus moth caterpillar can eat 86,000 times its weight when it leaves its egg in a little less than two months.
(Source: Wikipedia, Animal Diversity Web, Animal Spot, and University of Florida, Entomology and Nematology Department)
Moth of the Week
Luna Moth
Actias luna
The luna moth is in the Saturniidae family or the giant silk moth family. Originally, James Petiver described and named this moth in 1700 as the Phalena plumata caudata. However, this name was replaced by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Linnaeus renamed it Phalaena luna and later he again changed the name to Actias luna, after the Roman moon goddess, Luna.
Description These moths are known for their green wings with long tails extending from the back edge of the hindwings. These moths also have a purplish or brown outline at the top and side of the forewings and along the bottom of the hindwings with a yellow eyespot on each wing. Luna moths have fuzzy white bodies, yellowish orange antennae, and legs ranging from maroon to magenta.
Wingspan averages at 9.75 cm (≈3.8 in) and and occasionally can grow up to 17.78 cm (7.00 in)
As most Lepidoptera do:
Females have a larger body compared to males in oder to carry eggs
Males have longer and wider antennae to pick up on mating pheromones
Diet and Habitat These moths are found in Canada from Saskatchewan to Quebec and Nova Scotia and in the United States from Florida to Maine. They are also found in Western Europe on occasion. Luna moth caterpillars live in and eat many species of broadleaf trees such as white birch, American persimmon, American sweet gum, and several species of hickory, walnut, and sumac trees. Adults moths have small mouths and do not eat.
Mating In the north, luna moths breed once a year in June while in the south, they breed up to 3 times a year in March. Mating occurs at night when females release pheromones to attract males, and a mating session lasts several hours. Females lay 200 to 400 eggs one by one or in small clusters. Egg laying takes several days, and eggs hatch after about a week.
Predators The luna moth’s hindwing tails are theorized to be used to confuse bats that use echolocation to hunt the moths. (TW: regurgitation/vomit) Another defense mechanism this species has is the larvae make clicking noises as a warning and then can regurgitate or hurl horrible tasting fluid from their intestines at predators. In addition to bats, a parasitic fly brought to North America to take care of the invasive spongy moths are also hunting the luna moth and other moth species.
Fun Fact Luna moth caterpillars have a special enzyme in their digestive systems that neutralizes a toxic chemical found in hickory and walnut trees. Additionally, some caterpillars have more enzymes than others because of different amounts of hickory and walnut trees in habitats!
(Source: Wikipedia, Finger Lakes Land Trust)
Moth of the Week
Comet Moth
Argema mittrei
TW: Trypophobia for pictures
The comet moth or the Madagascan moon moth was first described in 1847 by Félix Édouard Guérin-Méneville. This moth is a part of the Saturniidae family and is one of the largest silk moths. This species receives its genus name Argema, meaning 'speckled eye' in Greek, from the large eyespots on its forewings and hindwings. Additionally, the name comet moth comes from their long hindwing tails.
Description The comet moth has large yellow wings with magenta patterns by the head, at the tips and outer margin of the forewings, the top and bottom of the hindwings, and the stem of the hindwing tails. Furthermore, the top edge of the forewings, outer edge of the hindwings, and both sides of the tail are outlined in black. Each of the hindwings and the forewings have large magenta and orange eyespots also outlined in black. The final touch on the wings are white accents by the head and in the eyespots. The body of the comet moth is yellow or a yellow-orange with the top of the legs matching then fading to black. They also have orange antennae.
Females have more rounded wings and larger bodies for egg laying
Average male wingspan: 20 cm (≈7.9 in)
Average male tail span of 15 cm (≈5.9 in)
The males have a longer, more feathery antennas than the females to pick up mating pheromones
Males have longer, thinner tails while females have shorter, thicker ones
Diet and Habitat This moth’s diet and host plants include the smoke tree, the marula tree, the Brazilian peppertree, and the cider gum tree. Most sources say adult moths do not feed because of their inability to use their shrunken mouths. Comet moths are native to Madagascar and nowhere else in the world. Their natural habitat are the Madagascan rainforests. However, they can and have been bred in captivity. Today due to habitat loss, their range is limited to the rainforests located south and east of Madagascar’s capital.
Mating Female moths release and pheromone to attract male mates, who fly to find them. After mating, the females lay 120 to 170 eggs on the host plants that will hatch into caterpillars in 10 to 20 days.
Predators Chameleons, geckos, bats, and birds prey on comet moths. To combat this, the comet moth uses its colors to camouflage itself. Additionally, it uses its long tails to mess with a bat’s echolocation and cause it to attack the tails instead of the moth’s vulnerable body. Furthermore, this species has the ability to use ultrasound absorption so the bat’s echo will come back fainter, and the moth is harder to “see.”Finally, the wing’s eyespots are used to fool predators into thinking the comet moth is a more dangerous animal. The largest current threat to comet moths are humans, and this moth is now endangered sure to habitat loss.
Fun Fact This moth used to be on the 1000 Malagasy ariary banknote.
(Source: Wikipedia, AZ Animals, Natural History Museum UK, The Company of Biologists, Moth Identification)
Moth of the Week
Io Moth
Automeris io
The Io moth or peacock moth is in the family Saturniidae. The name Io comes from Greek mythology in which the mortal Io was turned into a cow by Hera for sleeping with Zeus. The eyespots are said to look like the eyes of a cow. The species was first described in 1776 by Johan Christian Fabricius.
Description Males have yellow to orangish yellow body, legs, and forewings with symmetrical brown patterned markings. On the hindwings are large black eyespots with a white center and surrounded by yellow, black, and red orange edges. Also on the hidwings are a large red orange edge on the edge closet to the body. Females have reddish-brown body, legs, and forewings with patterns in varying shades of brown. the hindwings are similar to those of the male but with maroon instead of red orange and a small light brown edge. Some hybridizations have resulted in variations in these hindwing eyespots.
Average wingspan: 75.5 mm (≈3 in)
Males have larger antennae
Females have larger bodies and wings
Diet and Habitat The io moth caterpillars first feed on the eggs they hatch from then their host plants. These host plants are a variety of grasses, herbaceous plants, shrubs, deciduous trees, and conifers. Some of these plants included the mulberry, pin cherry, willow, balsam fir, red maple, bastard indigo, wild indigo, American hornbeam, sugarberry or southern hackberry, button-bush, eastern redbud, showy partridge pea, sweetfern, flowering dogwood, and common hazel. Adults do not feed. This species’s preferred habitats are deciduous forests, thorn scrub, and suburban areas in continental North American. They range from Manitoba to Nova Scotia in Canada and from Montana to Texas and onward over all the eastern states in the United States.
Mating Io moths breed from late May to July, though southern populations may breed earlier and later in the season due to having several broods per seasons as opposed to the north’s single brood. The females emit pheromones to call males as soon as the second night after leaving the cocoon. Males detect female pheromones with their antennae and mating lasts for about 90 minutes staring around 9:45 to 10:30 pm. 3 to 5 days after mating, females lay their eggs in clusters of 20 to 35 on the host plants leave or stems. Eggs hatch after 8 to 11 days.
Average eggs laid: 300
Predators This species is harmed by many species of parasitic flies and wasps and hunted by birds, small mammals, and spiders. In defense, the caterpillars of the io moth have venomous spikes. This venom isn’t fatal to humans, but it does caus acute dermatitis. The adult io moths use their hindwing eyespots to scare off predators by shaking them to imitate a larger animal.
Fun Fact Adult moths are strictly nocturnal and rest on the branches or trucks of trees during the day.
(Source: Wikipedia, University of Florida, Missouri Department of Conservation, Butterflies and Moths of North America, Animal Diversity Web, Adopt and Shop, Kiddle)
Moth of the Week
Cecropia Moth
Hyalophora cecropia
The cecropia moth is a member of the family Saturniidae or the family of giant silk moths. This species was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. This moths gets its name from the mythological kind of Athens, Cecrops I.
Description The cecropia moth’s wings are brown or black with crescent spots which are white in the center and then fade to red then black. They are larger on the hindwings. All the wings also have a white stripe followed by a red one and then frilled white patterns and white and grey edges. The forewings have a black eyespt on the upper corners. The moth’s head and back are red with a white band and dark antennae. The body is hairy with red legs, a white upper body, and an alternating red and white abdomen.
Average wingspan: 15.24 cm (6 in)
Diet and Habitat Caterpillars eat trees and shrubs such as wild cherry, plum, maple, willow, boxelder, apple, crabapple, and lilac, to name a few. Adult moths have no mouths and do not feed. These moths can be found east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. Their range goes west to Washington and north into the majority of Canadian provinces. They prefer hardwood forests and are most commonly found on maple, cherry, and birch trees.
Mating Mating season for this moth is late May or June. The females release pheromones which the males detect with their antennae. They can detect up to a mile away but can fly up to 7 miles during their search. The mating usually begins early in the morning and lasts until the evening. These moths are univoltine, meaning they have only one generation per year.
Predators This species is parasitized by some species of wasps and flies, especially the Compsilura concinnata, who lay their eggs in or on the caterpillars. Other threats are squirrels, loss of habitat, and outdoor lights.
Fun Fact The cecropia moth is North America's largest native moth
(Source: Wikipedia; Iowa State University, Horticulture and Home Peat News; National Wildlife Federation; Prairie Haven; AZ Animals)
Moth of the Week
Bogbean Buckmoth
Hemileuca maia menyanthevora
The bogbean buckmoth/bog buckmoth is part of the family Saturniidae. This moth was originally described under the Hemileuca maia complex or a group of closely related species in the genus of buck moths: Hemileuca. However, by using genomewide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), entomologists such as Julian R. Dupuis have found both Ontario and Oswego County, NY, populations of buck moths were not part of the H. maia lineage. In 2020, Pavulaan stated the bogbean buck moth may be its own species and called it Hemileuca maia menyanthevora.
Cryan & Dirig described the same taxon as species Hemileuca iroquois on April 2, 2020. The names have not yet been formally synonymized nor has one been discredited.
Description The females’ bodies are all black while the males’ are black with a red tip. Both have black/gray translucent wings. In the middle of the wings are a white band that flows from the forewings to the hindwings. Near the top edges of both wings in the white band is a gray and white eyespot. The forewing eyespot is larger than the hindwing spot.
Average forewing length: 29 mm (≈1.14 in)
Males have thicker antennae and females are slightly larger.
Adults are larger than other Hemileuca maia and the white wing bands are much larger than other H. maia
Diet and Habitat Larvae feed mainly on the plant bog buckbean, which is where they get their name. Adult moths do not feed. These moths are only found in calcareous fens where its primary host plant grows.
These moths have a limited range and are only found in ten colonies throughout the world: six located in Oswego County, NY, and four in eastern Ontario, Canada. In New York, bog buck moths can be found in wetlands sheltered by the eastern Lake Ontario dune network.
Mating Mating season begins around fall when the adult moths emerge. Female buck moths lay one large cluster of eggs on sturdy stems of a variety of plant species. The eggs overwinter and hatch the following spring. The eggs are never laid on the bog buckbean plants because they die back each year making them unable to support the eggs over winter.
Predators The eggs of the bogbean buckmoth are parasitized by the wasp Anastatus furnissi. Eggs are also preyed on by small mammals and invertebrates and may accidentally be ingested by white-tailed deer that eat the plant stems where eggs are laid. Egg predation is also observed from mites. All Hemileuca larvae have spines that can injure some vertebrate predators but do little to no to protect against parasitic flies and wasps.
Fun Fact Due to the rarity of this species, bog buck moths are considered an endangered species in New York.
(Source: Wikipedia; SLELO PRISM; New York Natural Heritage Program; Ontario.ca; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cortland, NY; Federal Register)
@turkeygamemaster
Moth of the Week
Spanish Moon Moth
Graellsia isabellae
The Spanish moon moth was first described in 1849 by Mariano de la Paz Graells y de la Agüera as Actias isabellae. However it was moved to the genus Graellsia, which was created in 1896 by Augustus Radcliffe Grote. It is part of the moth family Saturniidae and often associated with other “moon moths” under Actias although this species split off years ago. It is the only species in Graellsia and has no subspecies, making it a monotypic genus.
Description This moth has green wings with reddish-brown lines and yellow-green hindwing tails. These lines border all four wings and trace over the moth’s veins. The lower edges of both the hindwings and forewings (called the outer margins) are lined with black and the same yellow-green as the tails. This yellow-green is also seen on the forewings close by the moth’s head and on the hindwings in a gradient. Each wing has a magenta, orange, white, and black eyespot in between its veins with the hindwing spots being larger.
The body is yellow-green as well with reddish brown patterning. The antennae can be dark or orangish-brown.
The males have longer tails and bushier antennae while females have stubby tails and larger bodies.
Wingspan Range: 6.35 – 10.16 cm (2.5 - 4 in)
Diet and Habitat The caterpillar of this species eats pine needles, specifically from the Pinus nigra (Austrian Pine) and Pinus sylvestris (Scots Pine), which are native to its habitat. Interestingly, this species doesn’t easlily adapt to eating non-native pine species even if they are from the same genus.
This species is native to Spain and France but is also found in Switzerland. They live in the Alps and the Pyrenees mountains, which are considered a “refugee location.” Due to the cool, dry, and unchanging climate the Spanish moon moth has been able to remain unchanged for thousands of years. It is also a protected species.
Mating Adult moths hatch at the end of April to early May. The females lays 100 to 159 eggs, using pines as host plants. The eggs hatch after 1 to 1.5 weeks. It is important to note that adult from the same family will not mate with each other.
Predators Presumably, this moth uses its eyespots to imitate a larger animal and scare away predators.
Fun Fact A hybrid moth species was created by breeding the Spanish moon moth and the Indian moon moth (Actias Selene).
(Source: Wikipedia, Moth Identification, The Butterfly Babe)
psst hey you you ever heard of the polyphemus moth
yeahhhhh good stuff
check em out
Psst, hey! I have actually heard of this moth before, in fact it was one of my first Moth of the Week posts. You can find the post here!
Check ‘em out! :]
Looks like either a Promethea Silk or a Tulip-tree Silk moth. Either way it's female because the males of both species are darker. These species are easily confused, but try check the top side of the wings for white spots on the forewings - if they're small or nonexistent it's probably a promethea moth (probably, not guaranteed bc you have to take a number of things into account).
This article might help tell the difference:
So does anyone know what kind of moth this is? I found it dead in my garage this morning so I decided that I'd mount it. I looked up the steps to mount a bug for display purposes and right now he's in a relaxation chamber to make sure he's limber for positioning later this week.
But I'd like to know it's proper breed to label him correctly.
I found my first Hemileuca moth this year, one of my favorite local moths.
Look at da baby bois!
a mess of mature promethea moth caterpillars (Callosamia promethea) wriggling plumply after spending a little less than a month fattening up on wild cherry leaves
a smaller relative of the cecropia moth, these are one of the less well-known giant silkmoths in the US, but they might just be my favorite species to raise.
(Massachusetts, 8/20/23)