Overview
Brief Summary
The promethea moth (Callosamia promethea) is an impressive saturnid moth with a 7-10cm wingspan, native to eastern North American woodlands. Like other saturnids, the adult moths do not feed. Males and females are sexually dimorphic in wing coloration and pattern. Eggs are laid in batches of up to about 30, and the first instar caterpillars feed together from a wide range of host plants, including foliage of birch, cherry, maple, sweetgum, sassafras, spicebush, and yellow poplar. When larvae get bigger, they become solitary. Interestingly, after eating leaf tissues between the veins, a caterpillar will cut the leaf at the base of the petiole so that it falls off the plant; this is thought to help remove visual and olfactory evidence of their presence, and thus confound predators. When caterpillars grow to a full size they wrap themselves in the leaf hanging from a hostplant and build a silk cocoon, in which they overwinter. Moths emerge from their hanging cocoon in spring. In southern habitats two generations occur per year.
(Butterflies and moths of North America; Hyche 2001; Wikipedia 2011)
- Butterflies and moths of North America. Attributes of Callosamia promethea. Retrieved December 21, 2011 from http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Callosamia-promethea
- Hyche, L.L. 2001. Promethea Moth (Spicebush Silkmoth). Auburn University. Retrieved December 21, 2011 from http://www.ag.auburn.edu/enpl/bulletins/promethea/promethea.html
- Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 13 September, 2011. “Callosamia promethea”. Retrieved December 6, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Callosamia_promethea&oldid=450257756
Supplier: Dana Campbell
Trusted
Distribution
National Distribution
Canada
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
United States
Origin: Native
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Callosamia promethea
Public Records: 0
Specimens with Barcodes: 16
Species With Barcodes: 1
© Barcode of Life Data Systems
Trusted
Conservation
Conservation Status
National NatureServe Conservation Status
Canada
Rounded National Status Rank: N4 - Apparently Secure
United States
Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
NatureServe Conservation Status
Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure
© NatureServe
Source:
NatureServe
Trusted
Wikipedia
Callosamia promethea
The Promethea Silkmoth (Callosamia promethea), is a member of the Saturniidae family of moths.
Contents |
Description
Males have dark brownish-black wings with a faint white postmedian line and pinkish coloring near the apical spot. Females are bright reddish-pink or a brownish color with well-developed reniform spots. Both sexes have tannish marginal borders. Their wingspan measures 7.5-9.5 cm.
Range
C. promethea is found in the eastern half of the United States and lower parts of eastern Canada.
Life cycle
Mating takes place in the afternoon to early evening, and egg-laying begins at night. Females are attracted to lights, but males are not. Females lay 2-12 eggs in a single cluster on host plants. The early instar larvae feed together on the underside of leaves. They are greenish-yellow and striped with black. The older larvae are solitary and are green with 4 red knobs above the thorax and 1 yellow knob on the eighth abdominal segment. On the lower branches of the food plant, the larva makes a cocoon within a leaf, firmly attaching the petiole to the branch. C. promethea has 1 brood in the north (which flies from June-July) and 2 or more broods in the south (which fly from March-May and from July-August).
Food Plants
The larvae of C. promethea feed on a variety of plants including- but not restricted to- the following:
- Acer, (maple)
- Diospyros, (persimmon)
- Fraxinus americana, (white ash)
- Kalmia, (laurel)
- Lindera benzoin, (spicebush)
- Liriodendron tulipifera, (tulip tree)
- Malus, (apple)
- Pinus, (pine)
- Populus, (poplar)
- Prunus persica, (peach)
- Prunus serotina, (wild black cherry)
- Pyrus, (pear)
- Quercus, (oak)
- Rhododendron
- Salix, (willow)
- Sassafras
- Syringa, (lilac)
- Tilia, (basswood)
Gallery
Pupa
Adult
Adult
References
- David L. Wagner 2005. Caterpillars of Eastern North America. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. ISBN 0-691-12143-5
- Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005. Moths of Eastern North America. Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, Virginia. ISBN 1-884549-21-7
Source:
Wikipedia
Unreviewed
Disclaimer
EOL content is automatically assembled from many different content providers. As a result, from time to time you may find pages on EOL that are confusing.
To request an improvement, please leave a comment on the page. Thank you!
