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.
Lately, I’ve been hard at work building my own fakedex and feel bad having nothing to show for it. Here’s a 4-way split evolution family, each evo is based on a card suit and an insect order that have larvae! Visually inspired by particular families as well :]
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)
As @onenicebugperday is not currently accepting submissions, here is a moth friend I found at work.
They (I think they are a ‘she,’ but I’m not sure) was trying to sleep in a very bright spot that gets way too hot come midday.
I moved our friend to a more sheltered spot.
I’m pretty sure they’re in the family Saturniidae. I don’t know which species. Their secondary wings were a beautiful shade of sunset pink, but they weren’t interested in showing them off aside from annoyed fluttering.
Covering their little face 🥺🩷
Here is a video of them tucking their face, and those big eyes!, into their fluff. Sorry for the blurry quality at some parts.