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Reader submission: A Cecropia moth

By Howard B. Owens

Submitted by Pamela Fry.

The above photo is a soon-to-be Cecropia moth. My husband found this in East Pembroke where he works. I have never seen a caterpillar like this before so I did some research on Google.

The scientific name for this creature is a Hyalophora cecropia, which is North America's largest native moth. These caterpillars molt four times during their life span. The picture above is the caterpillar's fifth instar so he/she will be spinning its cocoon very soon.

In a few weeks, the Cepropia moth will come out of the cocoon (see picture below). Since these types of moths do not have mouth parts, they are unable to eat. As a result, the lifespan of an adult Cecropia moth is typically only 7-10 days in the wild.

I found this creature to be very interesting and thought I would share it with you!

Mardell Lamb

We found one last week. First time for us. I was amazed at the size and the bright green color! I too, did a google search to find out more about it. It was funny...the cats were curiously looking at something in the grass, and that's when we discovered it. Or should I say, THEY discovered it. What a shame that the moth only lives such a short time. They're beautiful.

Thanks for sharing this!

Aug 14, 2011, 3:47pm Permalink
C. M. Barons

...Another exotic moth that occasionally shows up is the luna:

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/luna_moth.htm

North American moth and butterfly populations have been steadily declining mostly due to the introduction of a European parasitic fly to control gypsy moths. From 1906 to 1986, Compsilura concinnata flies were released repeatedly in North America by both the U.S. and Canadian governments as a biocontrol agent. Unfortunately, the flies target the larvae of species other than just gypsy moths.

Aug 15, 2011, 3:54am Permalink

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