Callosamia promethea

Drury, 1773

Promethea Silkmoth, Spicebush Silkmoth

Callosamia promethea is a North American silk in the Saturniidae, notable for being the only member of its family with sexually dimorphic activity patterns: males are while females are . do not feed. Larvae feed on a broad range of plants across multiple families, including Rosaceae, Oleaceae, and Lauraceae. The produces silk for cocoon construction and exhibits distinctive defensive including and chemical secretion.

Callosamia promethea by wikipedia. Used under a Copyrighted free use license.

Callosamia promethea 3rd instar by Jacy Lucier. Used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Callosamia promethea eggs and 1st instar by Jacy Lucier. Used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Callosamia promethea: /kæl.əˈseɪ.mi.ə prəˈmiː.θi.ə/

These audio files are automatically generated. While they are not always 100% accurate, they are a good starting point.

Identification

Distinguished from by broad plant range (versus more specialized hosts in C. securifera and C. angulifera). Males distinguished by dark coloration and pipevine swallowtail mimicry; females by rust/cream coloration. Sexual activity pattern dimorphism unique in Saturniidae: males fly by day, females by night, overlapping only briefly in early evening. Cocoon attached to branches with silk and incorporated leaf tube, unlike C. angulifera where cocoons fall to ground.

Images

Habitat

Deciduous forests in eastern North America. Found in forested areas where plants occur.

Distribution

Eastern United States, ranging from the Atlantic coast west to the Great Plains. Present in Manitoba, Canada and Vermont, USA.

Seasonality

Northern range: one in early summer. Southern range: two broods, one in spring and one in late summer. active during specific times of day: males , females , with brief overlap in early evening.

Diet

Larvae feed on leaves of multiple plant including Rosaceae, Oleaceae, and Lauraceae. Specific plants include tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), spicebush (Lindera benzoin), black cherry (Prunus serotina), and lilac (Syringa vulgaris). do not feed.

Host Associations

Liriodendron tulipifera - larval Tuliptree
Sassafras albidum - larval Sassafras
Lindera benzoin - larval Spicebush; source of alternative
Prunus serotina - larval Black cherry
Syringa vulgaris - larval Lilac
Betula papyrifera - larval Paper birch; tuliptree lineages cannot survive on this

Life Cycle

laid at night on plant leaves in groups of 4–10. Larvae hatch and feed solitarily, eating leaves from edge inward. Five instars typically completed before . Larvae pupate in trees, attaching to branches with silk and curling a dead leaf around themselves to form cocoon. Pupation occurs through winter. emerge and mate; females release during late afternoon to early evening calling period.

Behavior

Larvae are solitary feeders. When disturbed, exhibit (death feigning): falling to ground, curling wings over , and remaining motionless while releasing yellowish viscous fluid with pungent odor from intersegmental between 5th and 6th abdominal tergites; fluid contains histamine. Defensive more pronounced in females. Males use of poisonous pipevine swallowtail (Battus philenor) for avoidance. Females release to attract males from distances up to 23 miles. Both sexes mate multiple times (polyandrous females, polygamous males).

Ecological Role

Larval herbivore on deciduous trees and shrubs. serve as prey for visual ; male mimicry of unpalatable may influence predator learning. and flies attack cocoons.

Human Relevance

Not considered a pest; larvae do not cause noticeable damage to trees. Occasionally reared for observation and education. Silk production for cocoon formation noted, but not commercially exploited. Subject of behavioral and evolutionary research due to unique sexual activity pattern dimorphism and hybridization studies with .

Similar Taxa

Callosamia anguliferaTuliptree silkmoth; specialized on Liriodendron tulipifera, whereas C. promethea uses multiple . C. angulifera larvae construct cocoons that fall to ground, while C. promethea cocoons remain attached to branches.
Callosamia securiferaSweetbay silkmoth; specialized on Magnolia virginiana, whereas C. promethea has broad range.
Battus philenorPipevine swallowtail ; males of C. promethea mimic this poisonous butterfly in coloration and pattern as defensive .

More Details

Unique sexual activity pattern

C. promethea is the only known in Saturniidae with sexually dimorphic daily activity patterns: males are strictly , females strictly , with only brief overlap in early evening. This temporal isolation is hypothesized to enable in females without trade-off between mating and -laying activities.

Hybridization studies

F1 hybrids between C. promethea and C. angulifera show inheritance of food plant selection resembling the male parent, while cocoon-spinning behavior shows polygenic inheritance with intermediate phenotypes.

Lack of host specialization

Despite using particular plants in different regions, C. promethea larvae show no physiological improvement in performance on their local host plant favorites; growth and survival depend primarily on plant nutritional quality rather than local .