Saturday, January 4, 2014

EMPEROR MOTH

Class: Insecta.  Order: Lepidoptera.  Family: Saturniidae.  Genus: Syntherata.  Species: janetta.
Common name: Emperor moth.

This large moth comes in various colour forms - they can be yellow, orange, pinkish-brown, grey or brick-red.   They have a wing span of 140mm and are found on various species of trees including mangroves and citrus trees.  The larvae feed on tree leaves.

These moths are attracted to house lights:


The female lays a row of white oval eggs (diameter of about 0.5mm).


The young caterpillars are yellow and have stiff hairs; they turn olive green and have lumpy 'bits' (tubercles) with tufts of short stiff hairs.


The caterpillar pupates in an oval cocoon.


An emperor moth on a flyscreen door:



and this photo shows its feathery antennae:


These moths are found in the Kimberleys in Western Australia, the top end of the Northern Terriroty and from Cape York in Queensland to Sydney in New South Wales.

4 comments:

  1. Hari OM
    They are beautiful - I have only ever seen one 'in the wild' as it were. YAM xx

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    1. They are beautiful but not sure I'd want to have one flying around our outside light. x

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  2. 140mm? That's 14cm, I don't think I've ever seen one of these. Even having lived in Brisbane and then twice in Sydney. I didn't know moths came this big. I've seen a few large darkish brown moths here in SA, about 7-8cm wingspan, usually around late summer-early autumn, early in the mornings. I had one land in my hair once, now there's an experience I never want to repeat.

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    1. I actually went back and checked the facts and it does say 140mm. I too thought it rather large but then what we call a Christmas moth here in Perth is pretty darned big and certainly one I hate to have fluttering around me. We've had one on our front verandah for a few weeks now and one night Phil let it in but fortunately we managed to get it outside again. I hate it when they come to close.

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