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)
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.
