Silkmoth

Guides

Agapema anona
greasewood silkmoth, Mexican agapema, Condalia Silk Moth
Agapema anona is a giant silkmoth in the family Saturniidae, found in the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Larvae feed exclusively on plants in the genus Condalia, while adults lack functional mouthparts and do not feed. The species inhabits arid environments including desert foothills and alluvial fans. Three subspecies are recognized, distinguished by geographic distribution.
silkmoth Saturniidae desert-moth specialist-herbivore Condalia
Automeris iris
Iris Eyed Silkmoth
Automeris iris is a silkmoth in the family Saturniidae, known as the iris eyed silkmoth. It occurs in Central and North America. Like other Automeris species, adults possess distinctive eyespots on the hindwings used for predator defense. The caterpillars bear urticating spines capable of delivering painful stings.
Saturniidae silkmoth eyespots urticating-spines defense Central-America North-America
Callosamia angulifera
Tuliptree Silkmoth, Giant Silkmoth
Callosamia angulifera is a large saturniid moth native to eastern North America. Adults are nocturnal, with flight activity occurring from June through August in northern populations and March through August in southern populations where two generations occur annually. The species exhibits strong host plant specificity, with larvae feeding exclusively on tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera). Adults lack functional mouthparts and do not feed. The species is closely related to Callosamia promethea and C. securifera, with which it shares morphological similarities but differs in host plant use and diel activity patterns.
saturniidae silkmoth specialist-herbivore nocturnal tulip-tree host-specific eastern-north-america
Callosamia securifera
Sweetbay Silkmoth
Callosamia securifera, commonly known as the Sweetbay Silkmoth, is a saturniid moth native to southeastern North America. The species was named after its obligate host plant, sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana). Like other members of the genus Callosamia, larvae are highly specialized feeders, utilizing only a single tree species for development. Adults are large, showy moths with reduced mouthparts and do not feed as adults.
saturniid silkmoth specialist-herbivore wetland-species Magnolia-associate
Calosaturnia albofasciata
white-streaked saturnia moth
Calosaturnia albofasciata is a silkmoth endemic to California, United States. It was described by Johnson in 1938 and was formerly placed in the genus Saturnia. The species is known by the common name white-streaked saturnia moth, referring to its distinctive wing pattern. It carries Hodges number 7753 in the MONA numbering system.
endemic California Saturniidae silkmoth Hodges-7753
Calosaturnia mendocino
Mendocino Silk Moth, Mendocino Saturnia Moth
Calosaturnia mendocino is a silkmoth in the family Saturniidae, first described as Saturnia mendocino by Behrens in 1876. It is endemic to California, United States. The species belongs to a small genus of North American saturniid moths.
Saturniidae silkmoth California-endemic North-Coast-Ranges Mendocino-County
Calosaturnia walterorum
Walter's Silkmoth, Walter's saturnia moth
Calosaturnia walterorum, known as Walter's Silkmoth, is a saturniid moth described by Hogue and Johnson in 1958. It was originally placed in the genus Saturnia before being transferred to Calosaturnia. The species occurs in a restricted range spanning southern California and adjacent Mexico. It is among the smaller and less frequently encountered silkmoths in western North America.
Saturniidae silkmoth endemic California Baja-California chaparral spring-emergence
Eupackardia
Eupackardia is a monotypic moth genus in the family Saturniidae, containing a single species, Eupackardia calleta (the calleta silkmoth). The genus was erected by Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell in 1912. The sole species is notable for its striking black-and-white wing pattern with red thoracic markings, and its caterpillars possess bright aposematic coloration with chemical defenses.
Saturniidae silkmoth desert-moth monotypic-genus aposematic-coloration chemical-defense ethnobotanical-use Southwestern-United-States Mexico Guatemala
Eupackardia calleta
Calleta Silkmoth, Ocotillo Silkmoth
Eupackardia calleta, the Calleta silkmoth, is a distinctive Saturniidae species and the sole member of its genus. Found in the southwestern United States and Mexico, this moth is strongly associated with ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), which serves as its primary larval host. Adults are nocturnal and attracted to light. The species is notable for its striking appearance and restricted distribution tied to desert and semi-arid habitats.
Saturniidae silkmoth desert-moth ocotillo Southwest-USA Mexico monotypic-genus nocturnal light-attracted
Hyalophora euryalus euryalus
Ceanothus silk moth, Western cecropia moth
Hyalophora euryalus euryalus is a subspecies of giant silk moth in the family Saturniidae, native to western North America. Adults are among the largest moths in the region, with wingspans reaching up to 15 centimeters. The subspecies is distinguished by its reddish-brown wing coloration with prominent eyespots and white crescent markings. Like other Hyalophora species, adults lack functional mouthparts and do not feed, living only long enough to mate and reproduce. Larvae are notable for their large size, colorful tubercles, and urticating spines.
silkmoth giant-moth western-north-america cecropia-group saturniidae forest-lepidoptera nocturnal light-attracted
Hyalophora gloveri
Glover's silkmoth
Hyalophora gloveri is a large silkmoth in the family Saturniidae, first described by Strecker in 1872. The species occurs across western North America from the Rocky Mountains through the northern Great Plains and Canadian prairie provinces. Its taxonomic status remains debated; several authorities treat it as a subspecies of Hyalophora columbia. The species exhibits two recognized subspecies: H. g. gloveri and H. g. nokomis. Adults have a wingspan of approximately 100 mm.
Saturniidae silkmoth western-North-America prairie Rocky-Mountains
Rothschildia lebeau
Lebeau's Silk Moth, Forbes Moth
Rothschildia lebeau is a giant silkmoth in the family Saturniidae, distributed from the Lower Rio Grande Valley through eastern Mexico to Brazil. Adults are short-lived and do not feed, relying on fat reserves accumulated during larval development. The species exhibits a life history tradeoff between larval survival and adult body size based on host plant quality, with larger males showing higher mating success.
giant-silkmoth Saturniidae host-plant-tradeoff sexual-selection tropical-dry-forest Barro-Colorado-Island pheromone-communication non-feeding-adult complete-metamorphosis cultural-significance indigenous-use cocoon-harvesting mating-success body-size-dimorphism seasonal-variation microbial-associations protistan-diversity caterpillar-microbiome herbivore forest-ecology Neotropical Mexico Central-America South-America Panama Costa-Rica Brazil Texas Rio-Grande-Valley exhibit-species butterfly-house education conservation light-pollution suburban-sprawl introduced-parasites rearing cottage-industry vestigial-mouthparts fat-reserves short-lived-adult female-sedentary-behavior male-dispersal oviposition-site-selection fitness-consequences life-history-evolution quantitative-genetic-variation wet-season-phenology developmental-plasticity survival-size-tradeoff herbivore-performance plant-animal-interactions microbial-observatory molecular-characterization eukaryotic-microbiome saturniid-caterpillar Lepidoptera Bombycoidea Rothschildia Guérin-Méneville-1868 Attacus-lebeau Lebeau's-Silk-Moth Forbes-Moth Rothschildia-lebeau-forbesi windows transparent-wing-patches scale-less-wing-areas antennae sexual-dimorphism mate-choice sperm-competition reproductive-success larval-performance caterpillar-growth pupal-development adult-emergence longevity predation bat-predation nocturnal crepuscular moth silkmoth silkworm giant-moth forest-moth tropical-moth Neotropical-fauna biodiversity insect-collection museum-specimen Bohart-Museum American-Museum-of-Natural-History entomology lepidopterology systematics taxonomy natural-history field-study observational-study experimental-ecology evolutionary-ecology behavioral-ecology population-biology community-ecology ecosystem-function food-web trophic-interaction herbivory folivory tree-insect-interaction phenology climate-effects seasonality environmental-variation habitat-heterogeneity host-race ecotype local-adaptation 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species-range range-expansion range-contraction range-shift poleward-shift elevational-shift altitudinal-gradient latitudinal-gradient thermal-tolerance desiccation-resistance water-balance physiological-ecology metabolic-rate energetics nutritional-ecology stoichiometry nitrogen phosphorus carbon plant-secondary-metabolite tannin alkaloid terpenoid defense induced-defense constitutive-defense herbivore-offense counter-adaptation coevolution evolutionary-arms-race phylogenetic-constraint phylogenetic-signal comparative-method phylogenetic-comparative-analysis trait-evolution reproductive-strategy iteroparity semelparity big-bang-reproduction suicidal-reproduction capital-breeder income-breeder resource-acquisition resource-allocation storage fat-body lipid glycogen protein amino-acid vitamin micronutrient digestion gut-microbiome gut-flora intestinal-microorganism symbiosis mutualism commensalism parasitism pathogen disease immunity immune-response defense-mechanism resistance tolerance recovery survival mortality fecundity fertility sterility hybridization introgression gene-flow population-structure genetic-differentiation FST isolation-by-distance isolation-by-environment landscape-genetics landscape-ecology spatial-ecology geographic-information-system remote-sensing satellite-imagery habitat-suitability species-distribution-model ecological-niche-model MaxEnt BIOMOD ensemble-forecast climate-envelope niche-conservatism niche-evolution realized-niche fundamental-niche biotic-interaction competition facilitation apparent-competition indirect-effect trophic-cascade keystone-species ecosystem-engineer foundation-species dominant-species rare-species functional-diversity functional-trait trait-based-ecology community-assembly filtering sorting neutral-theory niche-theory unified-theory metacommunity metapopulation source-sink-dynamics rescue-effect mass-effect patch-dynamics landscape-mosaic connectivity corridor stepping-stone matrix-quality edge-effect interior-forest core-area buffer-zone fragment-size isolation perimeter-area-ratio shape-index fractal-dimension habitat-amount threshold-effect extinction-debt relaxation-time lag-effect time-delay historical-legacy founder-effect bottleneck genetic-drift inbreeding inbreeding-depression outbreeding outbreeding-depression heterosis hybrid-vigor genetic-rescue assisted-migration managed-relocation translocation reintroduction restoration-ecology habitat-restoration ecological-restoration rewilding de-extinction synthetic-biology conservation-genetics conservation-genomics population-genomics landscape-genomics environmental-DNA eDNA metabarcoding metagenomics transcriptomics proteomics metabolomics phenomics imaging computer-vision machine-learning artificial-intelligence deep-learning neural-network convolutional-neural-network recurrent-neural-network generative-adversarial-network transfer-learning data-augmentation training-set validation-set test-set cross-validation bootstrap jackknife permutation randomization Monte-Carlo Markov-chain Bayesian-inference posterior-probability prior-probability likelihood model-selection information-criterion AIC BIC DIC WAIC LOO model-averaging multimodel-inference structural-equation-model path-analysis causal-inference directed-acyclic-graph potential-outcomes propensity-score instrumental-variable regression-discontinuity difference-in-differences synthetic-control panel-data longitudinal-data time-series cross-sectional-data spatial-data spatiotemporal-data point-pattern areal-data geostatistics kriging variogram spatial-autocorrelation Moran's-I Geary's-c Getis-Ord-Gi LISA hot-spot cold-spot cluster-detection scan-statistic network-analysis graph-theory small-world scale-free-network centrality betweenness closeness eigenvector PageRank community-detection modularity clustering-coefficient path-length diameter radius percolation robustness resilience vulnerability adaptive-capacity transformability social-ecological-system complex-adaptive-system emergent-property self-organization nonlinearity threshold tipping-point hysteresis alternative-stable-state regime-shift critical-transition early-warning-signal resilience-indicator panarchy adaptive-cycle exploitation release reorganization fast-variable slow-variable controlling-variable driver pressure state impact response DPSIR ecosystem-service provisioning-service regulating-service cultural-service supporting-service natural-capital green-infrastructure nature-based-solution ecosystem-based-adaptation ecosystem-based-mitigation payment-for-ecosystem-service REDD+biodiversity-offset habitat-banking mitigation-hierarchy avoidance minimization restoration compensation no-net-loss net-gain biodiversity-metric condition-metric landscape-metric connectivity-metric genetic-metric functional-metric irreplaceability threat opportunity conservation-planning systematic-conservation-planning Marxan Zonation prioritization efficiency effectiveness equity stakeholder governance institution policy law regulation incentive market-based-instrument command-and-control voluntary-agreement certification eco-label sustainable-use sustainable-management adaptive-management learning-by-doing monitoring evaluation indicator target goal vision scenario projection forecast uncertainty risk precautionary-principle safe-minimum-standard environmental-impact-assessment strategic-environmental-assessment cumulative-impact-assessment social-impact-assessment health-impact-assessment life-cycle-assessment carbon-footprint water-footprint ecological-footprint material-flow-analysis substance-flow-analysis input-output-analysis environmentally-extended-input-output-analysis multi-regional-input-output-analysis computable-general-equilibrium integrated-assessment-model earth-system-model global-circulation-model regional-climate-model downscaling bias-correction ensemble-simulation perturbed-physics emulator surrogate-model reduced-complexity-model simple-climate-model integrated-earth-system-model socioeconomic-scenario shared-socioeconomic-pathway representative-concentration-pathway climate-scenario emission-scenario mitigation-scenario adaptation-scenario impact-scenario vulnerability-scenario risk-scenario resilience-scenario transformation-scenario sustainability-scenario narrative storyline pathway trajectory transition transformation decarbonization electrification renewable-energy energy-efficiency circular-economy green-economy blue-economy bioeconomy nature-economy natural-capital-accounting ecosystem-accounting environmental-accounting green-accounting inclusive-wealth genuine-progress-indicator happy-planet-index human-development-index sustainable-development-goals Agenda-2030 Paris-Agreement Convention-on-Biological-Diversity Aichi-targets post-2020-global-biodiversity-framework Kunming-Montreal-Global-Biodiversity-Framework 30-by-30 half-earth nature-needs-half rewilding-Europe rewilding-Britain rewilding-North-America Pleistocene-rewilding trophic-rewilding ecological-replacement taxon-substitution revival-biology molecular-de-extinction proxy-species gene-drive CRISPR genome-editing genetic-modification biotechnology nanotechnology information-technology global-positioning-system unmanned-aerial-vehicle drone satellite sensor camera-trap acoustic-monitoring citizen-science community-science participatory-monitoring traditional-ecological-knowledge indigenous-knowledge local-knowledge farmer-knowledge fishers-knowledge co-production-of-knowledge transdisciplinarity interdisciplinarity multidisciplinarity post-normal-science mode-2-science triple-helix quadruple-helix quintuple-helix open-science open-data open-access open-source FAIR-data findable accessible interoperable reusable data-management-plan metadata provenance quality-assurance quality-control validation verification uncertainty-quantification error-propagation sensitivity-analysis scenario-analysis Monte-Carlo-simulation Bayesian-belief-network influence-diagram decision-tree multi-criteria-decision-analysis cost-benefit-analysis cost-effectiveness-analysis multi-attribute-utility-theory game-theory mechanism-design incentive-compatibility revelation-principle social-choice-theory voting-theory fair-division institutional-design policy-design governance-design architecture polycentric-governance adaptive-governance collaborative-governance network-governance hierarchical-governance market-governance community-governance hybrid-governance meta-governance steering rowing regulatory-state enabling-state partner-state entrepreneurial-state innovation-state strategic-state developmental-state welfare-state green-state sustainable-state resilient-state smart-state digital-state platform-state algorithmic-state surveillance-state authoritarian-state democratic-state deliberative-democracy participatory-democracy direct-democracy representative-democracy liberal-democracy social-democracy green-democracy ecological-democracy biocracy ecofascism deep-ecology social-ecology ecofeminism environmental-justice climate-justice intergenerational-justice intragenerational-justice spatial-justice territorial-justice recognition-justice procedural-justice distributive-justice restorative-justice transformative-justice reparative-justice transitional-justice ecological-justice species-justice multispecies-justice more-than-human-justice anthropocene capitalocene plantationocene chthulucene symbiocene good-anthropocene bad-anthropocene great-acceleration great-divergence great-convergence great-transformation great-decoupling great-disruption great-moderation great-recession great-depression great-war great-famine great-migration great-replacement great-reset great-refusal great-enrichment great-leveling great-compression
Samia cynthia
ailanthus silkmoth, eri silkmoth
Samia cynthia is a large saturniid moth used for silk production, though less domesticated than Bombyx mori. Adults have wingspans of 113–125 mm with distinctive quarter-moon shaped spots on both wing surfaces, whitish and yellow stripes on a brown background, and eyespots on the outer forewings. The species is native to East Asia and has been introduced to multiple continents, often escaping from cultivation. The subspecies S. c. ricini, known as the eri silkmoth, feeds on castor bean and produces durable eri silk that must be spun rather than reeled.
silkmoth saturniidae eri-silk ailanthus invasive-species-host sericulture domesticated-insect wild-silk polyphagous-larvae feral-populations
Saturniinae
Emperor Moths, Wild Silk Moths, Giant Silkmoths
Saturniinae is a subfamily of Saturniidae containing approximately 644 species across 63 genera, including some of the largest Lepidoptera such as the luna moth, atlas moth, and cecropia moth. Adults are medium to very large with wingspans of 7.5–15 cm or more, and are characterized by prominent eyespots on their wings—some with realistic eye-like markings, others with crescent moon or angular shapes, or transparent windows where scales are reduced. Adults lack functional mouthparts and do not feed, living 5–12 days on fat reserves accumulated as larvae. The subfamily is divided into five tribes: Attacini, Bunaeini, Micragonini, Saturniini, and Urotini. Saturniinae is an important source of wild silk and human food in many cultures.
silkmoth giant-moth wild-silk forest-moth nocturnal eyespot moon-moth atlas-moth luna-moth cecropia-moth
Syssphinx montana
Montana Silkmoth
Syssphinx montana is a silkmoth in the family Saturniidae. Adults have a wingspan of 62–82 mm, with males smaller than females. The species is found in Mexico and rarely in southeastern Arizona. Adults are active from mid-July to early August and do not feed. Larvae feed on several leguminous host plants.
Saturniidae silkmoth Mexico Arizona nocturnal legume-feeder cryptic-larvae
Syssphinx raspa
Raspa Small Silkmoth
Syssphinx raspa is a small silkmoth in the family Saturniidae, native to North and Middle America. It is closely related to Hubbard's Silkmoth (Syssphinx hubbardi), with which it shares similar biology and appearance. The species has a wingspan of approximately 56-76 mm. Adults are primarily gray with bright pink hindwings that are exposed when startled. Like other Syssphinx species, the caterpillars feed on leguminous host plants and pupate underground.
silkmoth Saturniidae desert-moth nocturnal legume-feeder