#large moth

This large, beautiful moth is a Small-eyed Sphinx. Info about them is in the description of this YouTube short.

Cecropia Moth - Mothtober #24

This moth is the largest native specie of North America with up to 18cm wingspan! And it's the first member of the Saturnidae I drew this moth. As the adults don't feed, the moths live about 2 weeks. Apparently they're tasty because they've got a lot of predators: wasps, flies, squirrels, and some parasitic flies introduced to control invasive moth species are also harming them...

About the drawing

Mating of The Largest Moth species of India - Atlas Moth. Also one of the largest moths in the world, a beautiful lepidopteran species.

Those who love nature and wildlife often remain disappointed about the creatures and life they haven't been able to witness so far, and so was I. One such species, which I didn't come across (until yesterday) in a living state (I have seen its specimen previously) was this moth.

But, what a sight to behold it was. I got to see not one but two individuals of it, and their mating.

We were heading towards Kalu waterfall (Malshej Ghat). It was raining continuously. And just beside the pathway, from which some 250-300 tourists must have passed (to and fro) on that day, I was able to spot these two (and I indeed take a pride in it). They must have been in this state for more than one and half hour, at least, I saw them at the same spot while returning, too. 

Back in June, I had the privilege of hiking the Peyroglyph Canyon in the Pryor Mountains of Montana/Wyoming. It was there I was gifted this beautiful Glover’s silk moth, who was lying, wings outstretched, at the foot of the canyon just begging to be taken home. So that’s exactly what I did! I preserved it for several weeks, rehydrated it, before encapsulating it in its forever glass home. Rest in beauty, little one 🦋

Another night, another sphinx. Vine Sphinx Moth.

Inktober Day 9: Large Moth

From the prompt list Oddinkies:

Samia cynthia ( pryeri Butler)  シンジュサン (”Shinjusan”) - Ailanthus Silk Moth 

Description: A very large Saturniid moth, 110-140mm wingspan, this is one of the Silk Moth family. Samia cynthia has distinctive white crescent moons on all four wings, with corresponding moons visible when wings are held closed. The wings all have a darker inner half, a border of white, and fading toward the edges into a lighter brown. The darkness of the wings varies by individual and can range from a golden brown to deep espresso.  Thorax is woolly, matching the brown of the wings nearest it, but the abdomen has 3 distinctive rows of white spots down each segment of the abdomen. These spots also vary by individual and in some moths the central line is very faint. A white crescent ‘collar’ is behind the head, and the eyes are dark.

Eggs are pale yellow, laid in rows on host plants. Larvae start out yellow with black speckles, gregarious at first, then striking out on their own and turning green, usually with blue-tipped spines and more or less black speckles. Caterpillars reach about 50mm in the last instar.

The cocoon is charmingly spun in the fold of a leaf and the moth pupates inside. An example of the cocoons hanging in leaves can be seen above, and one may imagine how this position also gives some protection from rain or sun.

Domestication: “The common name 'Ailanthus silkmoth' refers to the host plant Ailanthus. There is a subspecies, S. cynthia ricini in India and Thailand that feeds upon the leaves of castor bean, and is known for the production of eri silk, and is often referred to by the common name Eri silkmoth.The eri silk worm is the only completely domesticated silkworm other than Bombyx mori. The silk is extremely durable, but cannot be easily reeled off the cocoon and is thus spun like cotton or wool.[1]”  Wikipedia

Flight: Two in warm weather: May to June, then August through September

Distribution: In Asia, Across Japan, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Okinawa; also Korea and China. They are only native to China, and are found in Korea and Japan after having escaped cultivation or being deliberately introduced. They can be found in many places worldwide (Australia, North and South America, and in Europe).

Confirmed in Prefectures:  Sado Island, Ishikawa, Aichi, Fukui, Toyama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Gifu. Near Endangered in Miyagi. “Regional Population only” in Niigata.

Host Plants:  Phellodendron amurense (Amur cork tree),  Quercus acutissima,  (sawtooth oak),  Styrax japonicus (Japanese snowbell),   Cinnamomum camphora (Camphor tree), Ailanthus altissima (Tree of Heaven) 

Note: Ailanthus altissima is known as Shinju in Japanese, which gives the moth its name both in English and Japanese.