Attacus atlas
Atlas moth ( Attacus atlas )
The Atlas moth ( Attacus atlas ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of the peacock moth ( Saturniidae ). He is one of the largest butterflies in the world and is named after the Titan Atlas from Greek mythology.
- 6.1 Notes and references
- 6.2 Literature
Features
The moths belong with a wingspan 25-30 centimeters of the largest known butterflies and have 400 cm ² the largest wing surface of this animal group. Females are larger than males. The bodies of animals is small in relation to the wing lengths. Front and rear wings have similar drawing. The basic color is yellow-brown to reddish brown. In the middle of all four wings brown is a characteristic, and thereby unbeschuppter hyaline translucent, black margined triangular spot. Costalwärts this spot can occur another smaller glass stains which can be connected to the outer transverse line. The midfield is proximal and basal limits of black, white, pink and violet gray transverse lines. The wings are very wide, the forewing yellowish tips widely protruding blunt sickle-shaped. Some human observers believe that the wing tips snakeheads imitated and thus could deter enemies. The underwings are colored somewhat like the tops, but paler. The males have short, long feathered sensor, those of the females are pinnate shorter. The mouthparts of the moths are stunted.
The beads reach a length of up to 11.5 cm. They are colored blue green and carry on the back long, fleshy appendages that are powdered white. Your stomach legs are thick and spherical. The abdomen of the animals is strangely shaped and has on pages two large, bright green spots with orange border.
Occurrence
The animals arrive in Southeast Asia, southern China, India and the Japanese Yaeyama Islands ( Ishigaki, Iriomote, Yonaguni ). They live in tropical and subtropical forests.
Way of life
Since the butterflies can take no food, they have Imaginalstadium only a short life span of about two weeks.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on a variety of different plants, such as of Muntingia calabura, soursop ( Annona muricata ), Ceylon cinnamon ( Cinnamomum verum), rambutan ( Nephelium lappaceum ), guava ( Psidium guajava ) and citrus fruits.
Mating and development
Send The females of pheromones to attract males for mating. They do not fly far after hatching and sit just around the corner at a suitable, low standing in the wind position from. The males they can with their large sensors locations over large distances. After mating, the female lays her about 2.5 millimeters large eggs on the underside of the caterpillar food plants. After about two weeks the crawler slip. If these are fully developed, they will need about four weeks pupation before the new generation of butterfly emerging. Pupation takes place in a parchment-like cocoon.
Find out more
From the cocoons of Attacus atlas the Fagaraseide is made. It is light brown, and considerably more robust than ordinary silk. But the cocoon of the animals does not consist of a single, but of many short filaments. The Fagaraseide has little economic significance.