Antheraea polyphemus

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Antheraea polyphemus
Antheraea polyphemus, male

Antheraea polyphemus , male

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Family : Peacock moth (Saturniidae)
Subfamily : Saturniinae
Genre : Antheraea
Type : Antheraea polyphemus
Scientific name
Antheraea polyphemus
( Cramer , 1775)
Adult caterpillar

Antheraea polyphemus is a butterfly found in North America( moth ) from the family of the peacock moth (Saturniidae). The specific epithet was chosen because of the conspicuous eye spot on the upper side of the hind wing after the one-eyed giant Polyphemus .

description

butterfly

The moths reach a wingspan of 10 to 15 centimeters. Both sexes are similar in terms of coloration, but the females are larger than the males. The basic color of the upper sides is yellowish brown, reddish brown or gray-brown. The dark transverse lines are pink. The submarginal region and the basal region are yellowish, the apex pink. There is a small yellow eye-spot on the upper fore wing. In the center of the hind wings a large, oval, yellow eye-spot stands out, which is centered with a horizontal line and has a bluish border towards the basal region. The undersides of all wings show a poorly marked, washed-out gray-brown to dark red-brown color. The eye spots shimmer through only weakly. The males have very large and strongly combed antennae . With this they ingest the pheromones emitted by the females .

  • Antennae of the male

  • Female (preparation)

  • Underside (male)

Caterpillar

Adult caterpillars have a grass-green basic color and show a light yellow diagonal stripe as well as reddish tracheas and short white bristles on each body segment . The head is red-brown.

Distribution and occurrence

Antheraea polyphemus occurs in the Canadian provinces except Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island and in all US states except Arizona and Nevada . The species prefers to colonize deciduous forests, orchards and wetlands. Occasionally, the caterpillars appear in plum or hazelnut plantations as an agricultural pest .

Way of life

Depending on the climatic conditions, the moths fly in one or two generations, in Florida , Louisiana and Texas also polyvoltin . They do not eat any food. At night they visit artificial light sources . The females lay the eggs in small groups on the leaves of the food plant. Freshly hatched caterpillars first eat the egg shell. The caterpillars then feed on the leaves of many different deciduous tree species, for example oak ( Quercus ), walnut family ( Juglandaceae ), willow ( Salix ), elm ( Ulmus ), maple ( Acer ) and birch ( Betula ). The northern populations overwinter as a pupa .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Origin of the name
  2. ^ Butterflies and Moths of North America
  3. ↑ Maike Forstner, Heinz Breer & Jürgen Krieger: A receptor and binding protein interplay in the detection of a distinct pheromone component in the silkmoth Antheraea polyphemus , International Journal of Biological Science, Vol. 5, (7), 2009
  4. ↑ Agricultural pest
  5. ↑ Food plants

Web links

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