Categories
Giant Silk MothsMoth Identification
April 25, 2010
I need help identifying a very large moth. The moth was found in Asheboro, North Carolina.
Sheryl McIver
North Carolina, Asheboro, Randolph County
Cecropia Moth
Hi Sheryl,
Your comely moth is a Cecropia Moth, and judging by the shape of the antennae, she is female. Male Giant Silk Moths have more developed, feathery antennae to better sense the pheromones of the female. Giant Silk Moth, including your Cecropia Moth, do not feed as adults, and they only live a few days, long enough to mate and lay eggs.
Hi,
Thank you for your response so quickly. I found it yesterday….kept it overnight so my son and I could observe it (it was raining hard last night, so I didn’t really want to let it go in the hard rain anyway), and now what to do with ALL THESE EGGS!!! I’ve been searching online and have discovered that the success rate is about 50%. Is this accurate in your opinion?
Thanks,
Sheryl
Hi Again Sheryl,
We are not certain what you mean by success rate. Raising 50% of eggs to maturity seems like a phenomenal success rate. According to BugGuide: “Larvae feed on leaves of various trees and shrubs including alder, apple, ash, beech, birch, box-elder, cherry, dogwood, elm, gooseberry, maple, plum, poplar, white oak, willow.”
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