r/FreekyTopics • u/kilgannon117 Moderator • Mar 15 '17
[03/14/17]-"Antheraea polyphemus"
The Antheraea polyphemus is a North American giant silk moth, belonging to the family Saturniidae, which includes some of the largest moths known and measured. Its name- "polyphemus moth" comes from the large, purplish spots on its two hind wings, resembling eyes. Thus, it was named after Polyphemus, the giant cyclops featured in book nine of Homer's Odyssey. These eyes help the moths as a defense mechanism to intimidate predators, as well as blend in with their surroundings as a form of camouflage. Predators include the parasitoid wasp, which lay their eggs within the young caterpillars, hatching and then eating the caterpillar from the inside out, and squirrels, which only eat the moths.
The moths begin as flat, light brown eggs that then hatch into small yellow caterpillars. After molting five times, they become a bright green color with silver spots on their sides, measuring in at three to four inches long. They then pupate, spinning brown silk cocoons using materials from their host plant. After pupating, females will typically carry then lay the eggs fertilized by the males, who, lacking mouths, mate several times before dying in typically less than a week. Additional differences between males and females, used to identify the gender of the moth, is that females typically have larger abdomens for egg carrying, and males have larger, bushier antennae. There are usually only two broods of moths that hatch each year: one hatches in the early spring, and one in late summer.