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This beautiful and very large moth visited the Opelika-Auburn News on Tuesday. Do you know what kind of moth it is? Have you ever seen something unusual or exceptional at your house or at school? It’s fun to notice these thngs and ask questions.
Did you know that there are over 10,500 different
species of moths?
This moth looks very much like a fall leaf. Do you think there might be a reason for that?
How many spots does our moth
have?
What color is it?
If the drawing at the bottom is
the actual size, how big is it?
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If you were a moth, what color would you be?
Color this moth any way you like!
You can color it to blend into its
surroundings—or to stand out from its surroundings..
Send your finished moth to
Cub Reporter
2901 Society Hill Road
Opelika AL 36804
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To: Cub Reporter
The moth in this morning’s O-A News is one of the giant silkworm moths (Family Satruniidae), specifically the “Imperial moth” (scientific name:
Eacles imperialis). Its caterpillar feeds on leaves of a variety of trees, including sweet gum, sycamore, maple, oak, sassafras, cedar and pine. It occurs widely throughout the eastern half of the U.S., and has two broods (i.e., generations/year) here in the South.
The developmental time as a caterpillar is variable, typically 3-6 weeks, depending on the latitude, temperature, and quality of the food plant. However, the caterpillar can live a few months before it pupates. The caterpillar does not spin a cocoon, but instead excavates a shallow chamber in the soil where it pupates. It passes the winter in the pupal stage.
As for the large size of the adults, this is typical of many of the moths in the Family Saturniidae, commonly called the “giant silkworm moths” [note, the family spelling is “Saturniidae,“ and not “Satruniidae” as I mis-typed it in my previous message]. They are among the most spectacular of our North American moths because of their large size and very showy color patterns. Included in this family are the Regal moth (also called Royal walnut moth) and its impressive caterpillar called the Hickory horned devil; the Io moth, which has stinging spines on the caterpillar; Luna moth, a large light-green moth with a long tail on each of the hind wings; Polyphemus moth, with a large eyespot on each hind wing; Promethea moth, and Cecropia moth. You should have no problem finding all the pictures and information you might want about these species on the Internet.
Gary R. Mullen, Professor
Dept. of Entomology & Plant Pathology
Auburn University, AL 36849-5413
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