Subject: Moth ID
Geographic location of the bug: North Italy, near border with Slovenia
Date: 08/09/2022
Time: {current_time} EDT
Your letter to the bugman:
Hello, found this beautiful specimen and i would love to know what species it is. Thank you in advance!
How you want your letter signed: Marco
Dear Marco,
We love your image of a Giant Peacock Moth because the translucency of the wings and the backlighting allow us to see the patterns on both surfaces of the wings simultaneously. There are many images on the Butterflies of Italy site for comparison.
How nice! This is an Antheraea yamamai female (Japanese oak-silkmoth). The species has been bred about 1860 by Jan Mach (village teacher and a relative of the more famous physician Mach) for silk production (as a substitute after the loss caused by the pebrine pest in the Maulberry silworm Bombyx mori) across the town of Novo mesto, and after some of the moths escaped in 1866 through an open window of his house, they occupied a natural niche in the forest (on the local species of their hosttrees – oaks, beeches, chestnuts and hornbeams) spread around and survived till today. As the only species of the Antheraea-genus hibernating at egg-stage and living in only one generation/year, it has a warm season long enough for its life cycle in this part of Europe… Nice wishes and Thanks for sharing