🌜 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘦 (Hübner, 1807), the Indian moon or luna moth is a species of giant silk moth found in much of Asia. Selene was the Greek goddess of the moon, and the name is thought to have come from the translucent moon-like spots on its wings, its reflective scales and the fact that it flies at night. 🌘 Luna is the Roman equivalent of Selene, also meaning moon in Latin. Moon moths belong to the Saturniidae family, which contains some of the largest species of moth, including the Saturniinae subfamily of wild silk moths.
The Indian moon moth is the biggest of the 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘴 species, with sizes up to 18 cm. 📏 The species is sexually dimorphic, meaning that females are bigger and shaped slightly differently to males, such as having smaller antennae. Males are very active flying around at night, whereas females tend to stay quite still and release powerful pheromones (volatile molecules) to attract the males to mate. They are so potent that males can detect them over 10 km away! Once paired and fertilised, the females become more active and fly around laying their eggs on leaf surfaces. 🌿
🥚 The eggs take 10 to 15 days to hatch, and the young caterpillars emerge with orange-and-black striped colours. They feed on a wide range of leaves such as hawthorn, eucalyptus, rhododendron and willow, and grow to be very big and bright green. 🐛 Then comes the pupal stage, which lasts 1 to 1.5 months and is the longest stage in the approximately 2-month-long lifecycle. The caterpillar will continuously produce up to 350 m of tough, brown silk fiber (that’s 25 m taller than the Eiffel tower!) and envelop itself with it to form a cocoon. During this time, called metamorphosis, the caterpillar will digest parts of itself and develop a new body layout, eventually breaking free from the cocoon and flying off. 🪁
The moth (adult) stage lasts only 7 to 10 days, during which they must breed, and the cycle starts all over again, independent of the seasons. 🔄 Indian moon moths are common in much of Asia, but they are not often spotted due to their short and nocturnal lifestyle. 🌕 During the adult life stage moon moths do not eat, as they only retain vestigial mouthparts from their time as caterpillars; and keep all their energy for… you know.
🦋 At the HKBM we have two discoloured Indian moon moths as well as a cocoon, pictured. The Indian species is normally one of the prettiest, with its green-bluish body, yellow-pink tails and waxing-moon spots. If you’re lucky you might be able to spot a close relative, the less colourful 𝘈𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘱𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘢, the Chinese moon moth, in the wild in Hong Kong.
Text: Elvira Rey Redondo
Comentários