Moth Of The Week

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

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

Nine-Spotted Moth

Amata phegea, formerly Syntomis phegea

The nine-spotted moth or the yellow belted burnet is a moth in the family Erebidae, the family of tiger moths. The species was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. The moths gets its names from the common nine spots on its wings and the yellow band on the sixth segment of its abdomen.

Description Both the moth’s body and wings are an iridescent blue on black or green on black. The wings usually have eight to nine white spots, six spots on the forewings and two or three spots on the hindwings. However the number and the size of these spots can vary per moth. Finally, the moth’s body has its own yellow spot in the second segment of the abdomen accompanied by a yellow band on the sixth segment. The antennae are thin black wires with white tips, unlike most moths’ antennae which are fluffy or saw edged.

Average wingspan of 37.5 mm (≈1.5 in)

Males are smaller than females and have thicker antennae.

Diet and Habitat The nine-spotted moth caterpillars eat many herbaceous plants such as bedstraws, dandelions, docks, fleaworts, grasses, and other low plants. This species is mainly found in southern Europe but makes appearances in northern Germany, Anatolia, the Caucasus, and the Dutch nature reserves of Leudal and Meinweg. It does not breed in the United Kingdom, but does immigrate there on rare occasions. They prefer drier areas such as open ranges with shrubs and trees, open forests, and sunny slopes.

Mating Adult moths mate in late May to August depending on location. Sources vary as to whether this species has one or three generations a year. Females lay an average of 104 eggs on host plants in groups of up to 61 eggs.

Predators The nine-spotted moth avoids predation by birds due to its mimicry of the Zygaena ephialtes. The Z. ephialtes is a moth unpalatable to birds, so its wings are brightly spotted to warn predators of toxicity. This is called aposematism.

Fun Fact The official term for the nine-spotted moth’s type of antennae is filiform, meaning thread-like. It is the most basic type of insect antennae.

(Source: Wikipedia, Moth Identification, CAB Direct, Amateur Entomologists’ Society)

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

Buff-Tip

Phalera bucephala

The buff-tip is part of the family Notodontidae and was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. They are best know for their resemblance of a broken birch twig when at rest. The name buff-tip comes from the color on the head and edge of the wings, buff: “a light brownish yellow, ochreous colour, typical of buff leather.”

Description The body is hairy, with a buff colored patch on the head followed by a brown ring. The upper body visible from under the wings is a mottled gray to match the forewings. The rest of the body is covered when resting and is a cream white with gray, cream and or brown legs. The forewings are also mottled gray with brown patterning and a buff patch at the tip mirrored on both sides. The hindwings are the same cream as the lower body. The antennae are brown and hidden when camouflaged.

Average wingspan: 55-68 mm

Males are smaller than females

Diet and Habitat Common food plants for this moth include the Norway maple, birch, chestnut, hazel, oak and many more. Caterpillars are social as young larva and eat in groups which can cause the defoliation of their host plants. Adult moths do not feed.

This moth is found across Europe and in Asia to eastern Siberia. It is very common in the British Isles, more so in the south than in the north. They prefer habitats with deciduous trees like open woodlands, scrubs, hedgerows, and urban gardens.

Mating Generally, the buff-tip can be seen from May to July, which is most likely their mating season. This moth is strictly nocturnal so it is also most likely they mate during the night. They have one generation per year with the females laying the eggs in clusters on the underside of leaves. The young larva are sociable and grow to be solitary through 4 instars.

Predators In order to protect itself while resting during the day, this species has adapted to look like a broken birch twig. This deceives common day time predators of moths such as birds and lizards.

Fun Fact This moth has been considered a pest in Lithuania for eating apple trees in the 1900s. High levels of environmental nitrogen compounds can increase outbreaks of the buff-tip.

(Source: Wikipedia, Wildlife Insight, London Wildlife Trust, Butterfly Conservation)

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)