Antheraea polyphemus

Polyphemus moth
Antheraea polyphemus, adult male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Antheraea
Species: A. polyphemus
Binomial name
Antheraea polyphemus
(Cramer, 1776)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena polyphemus Cramer, [1775]
  • Telea polyphemus

The polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) is a North American member of the family Saturniidae, the giant silk moths.[1] It is a tan-colored moth, with an average wingspan of 15 cm (6 in). The most notable feature of the moth is its large, purplish eyespots on its two hind wings. The eye spots give it its name – from the Greek myth of the Cyclops Polyphemus. The species is widespread in continental North America, with local populations found throughout subarctic Canada and the United States. The caterpillar can eat 86,000 times its weight at emergence in a little less than two months.

Life cycle

The lifecycle of the moth is much like that of any other Saturniidae species. It lays flat, light-brown eggs on the leaves of a number of host plants, including: Betula (birch), Salix (willow), Quercus (oak), Acer (maple), Carya (hickory), Fagus (beech), Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust), Juglans (walnut), Pyrus (pear and quince), Prunus (plum, peach, apricot, cherry, etc.), Sassafras, Citrus, and Ulmus americana (American elm).

When the eggs hatch, small yellow caterpillars emerge. As the caterpillars age, they molt five times (the fifth being into a pupa). Each instar is slightly different, but on their fifth and final instar, they become a bright green color with silver spots on their sides. They feed heavily on their host plant and can grow up to 3–4 in long. They then spin cocoons of brown silk, usually wrapped in leaves of the host plant.

Two broods generally hatch each year throughout the United States, one in early spring and one in late summer. The moths eclose and then must pump their wings with fluid (hemolymph) to extend them. The females emit pheromones, which the male can detect through his large, plumose antennae. Males can fly for miles to reach a female. After the moths mate, the female spends the majority of the remainder of her life laying eggs, while the male may mate several more times. Adults of this family of moths have vestigial mouths, meaning their mouth parts have been reduced. Because of this, they do not eat and only live as adults for less than one week. In captivity, this moth is much more difficult to breed than other American saturnids such as the cecropia, promethea, or luna. Kept in a cage, the male and female tend to ignore each other, unless a food plant (particularly oak leaves) is present.

Sexual dimorphism

Variation in adults

Differentiating between sexes of this species is very easy. The most obvious difference is the plumose antennae. Males have very bushy antennae while females have moderately less bushy antennae. The male's antennae are used to detect pheromones released by unmated females. Another difference is that the females are slightly larger in the abdomen due to carrying eggs. A surprising amount of variation occurs within this species. Color patterns can range from a reddish-cinnamon to a dark brown, but are almost always a shade of brown. In the late 1950s, amateur lepidopterist Gary Botting hybridized the polyphemus moth (then known as Telea polyphemus) with Antheraea yamamai from Japan and, later, Antheraea mylitta from India by transferring the pheromone-producing scent sacs from female "T. polyphemus" to the Antheraea females and allowing T. polyphemus males to mate with them. The resultant hybrids were displayed in his winning U.S. National Science Fair exhibit "Intergeneric hybridization among giant silk moths."[2] After Botting consulted with genetic statistician J.B.S. Haldane and his wife, entomologist Helen Spurway, the polyphemus moth was reclassified, becoming Antheraea polyphemus.

Conservation

Parasitic insects such as some species of wasps and flies lay their eggs in or on the young caterpillars. The eggs then hatch into larvae which consume the insides of the caterpillars. Once the caterpillars pupate, the larvae themselves pupate, killing the polyphemus pupa. Squirrels have also been known to consume the pupae of polyphemus moths, decreasing the population greatly. Pruning of trees and leaving outdoor lights on at night can also be detrimental to the moths.

Response to threats

The polyphemus moth uses defence mechanisms to protect itself from predators. One of its most distinctive mechanisms is a distraction pattern that serves to confuse, or simply distract, predators. This involves the large eyespots on its hind wings, which give the moth its name (from the Cyclops Polyphemus in Greek mythology). Eyespots are also startle patterns, a subform of distraction patterns, used for camouflage via deceptive and blending coloration. Most startle patterns are brightly colored areas on the outer body of already camouflaged animals. (Another example of the use of startle patterns is the gray tree frog, with its bright-yellow leggings. When it leaps, a flash of bright yellow appears on its hind legs, usually startling the predator away from its prey.) Distraction patterns are believed to be a form of mimicry, meant to misdirect predators by markings on the moths' wings. The pattern on the hind wings of the polyphemus moth resembles that on the head of the great horned owl (Bubo virginianus).

In popular culture

In An American Childhood, Annie Dillard uses the constraint and subsequent crippling of a newly emerging polyphemus moth as a metaphor for thwarted human potential.

In Gary Botting's novel Campbell's Kids, the protagonist Emily describes how her mentor, the Blackfoot-Cree shaman Tuanahaki, shape-shifts into a polyphemus moth.[3]

In Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, a polyphemus moth is the messenger between Gandalf and Gwaihir.

In "John's Cocoons", singer/songwriter Michael McNevin describes the lifecycle of the polyphemus moth.

References

Brands, S. J. "Antheraea polyphemus". Systema Naturae 2000. Retrieved September 30, 2005. 

  1. ↑ "Polyphemus Moth". Ag.auburn.edu. Retrieved 2011-10-18.
  2. ↑ See: “City Student Earns Praise for Work in Studying, Breeding Silk Moths,” Peterborough Examiner, 2 May 1960; “Gary ‘s Open Window Way to Science Prize,” Toronto Telegram, 2 May 1960, page 1; "Peterborough Youth Honoured," [Peterborough: Canadian Press]; "Ontario Boy Wins Top Spot in Science Fair,” Toronto Telegram, 13 May 1960; "Hoosier Science Skill Brings Plenty of Prizes," Indianapolis Times, 14 May 1960, page 1; "Peterborough Youth Honoured," [Peterborough: Canadian Press]; "Top Winner at U.S. Fair" [Indianapolis: Special]; “Three Hoosiers among High Science Fair Winners,” Indianapolis Times, 14 May 1960; “At Science Fair: Austin Girl Wins Top Wish Award,” Houston Post, 14 May 1960; “Science Fair Winners,” Science Newsletter, 28 May 1960; “Moths Wing Lad to Oklahoma,” Toronto Telegram, 16 June 1960; “Student to be Guest of U.S. Institute,” Globe and Mail, 16 June 1960; “PCVS student receives fresh recognition,” Peterborough Examiner, 2 September 1960; “Bright Youth Brighter Today,” Weekend Magazine, Vol. 10, No. 40, 1960; “Young Expert on Moths Invited to India Talks,” Toronto Telegram, 29 December 1960; “Boy Collector: Moths Win Gary World Trip,” Evening News, 29 December 1960; “Young City Moth Expert Flies to India,” Peterborough Examiner, 30 December 1960; “Noted U.S. Scientists Address Roorkee Meeting,” American Reporter, 11 January 1961
  3. ↑ Gary Botting, Campbell's Kids (Houston: Strategic, 2015), p. 46

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