If you walk south at night, you will occasionally see a large patch of bright colors in the trees. If you look closely, it is likely that the color will suddenly fly. That's what we're going to talk about today: the great silkworm moth.
The great silkworm moth (scientific name: Attacus atlas), belonging to the insect class, winged subclass, lepidoptera, zombie-winged suborder, and large silkworm moth family, is the largest moth in the world. The wingspan is generally more than 20 centimeters, the largest record reaches 20 centimeters, and the atlas in its name means map. From the pattern of its wings, you can see that the name is really very appropriate.
It also has a name called the snakehead moth, which is because after its wings are folded together, the tip resembles the shape of a snake's head.
This mimicry is a means of deterring its natural enemies, birds.
The pattern of the large silkworm moth looks fancy, but in the forest at night, it is actually a good camouflage and can be integrated with the surrounding environment.
The lifespan of the large silkworm moth is mostly in the larval stage, and due to the loss of the mouth organ after feathering, it is unable to eat, so the lifespan of such a huge moth is actually only two weeks. After completing the mission of mating and reproduction, they quietly fell to the ground and disappeared quietly like the flowers buried by Daiyu.
The main habitats of silkworm moths are the trees and small trees of black oak, large-leaved acacia (wood hibiscus), camphor, willow, and birch
It also lives on tillers, apples, holly, and even sweet potatoes and dogtails.
The giant silkworm moth can breed twice a year, and adults generally appear in late spring or midsummer.
<h1>Female moths are less capable of flying, so they emit strong hormones that attract male moths. The male moth feels the signal of love in the wind through its tentacles, and then runs to the girl of his choice. </h1>
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After mating, the female moth lays eggs on the bark, and the eggs hatch into larvae after 8 to 9 days. The main task of the larvae is to eat, and throughout the life cycle, the weight will increase by hundreds of times, which is also to accumulate enough nutrients for the pupal stage and feathering afterwards.
The larvae pupate after about 40 days, and after about four weeks of pupal stage, they break the cocoon into moths. However, in colder areas, the larvae hatched in early autumn pupate and wait until the following spring to feather, and will remain pupae throughout the winter to survive that difficult time.
The feathered adults will hurry to start the next life cycle, after all, they have little life left.
Specimens of the great silkworm moth are very popular, so individuals in the natural environment often do not meet the market demand. Now the main supply comes from artificial farming, and the feed is mainly some fast-growing shrubs.
The famous monster of Godzilla, Mothra, was designed based on the great silkworm moth. Played an important role in the film.
In addition, the cocoon of the large silkworm moth is large, silky tough, strong and resistant to decay, and after the cocoon is buried in the ground for a year, the silk thread is still bright and tough as new.
Some scientific researchers have crossed the large silkworm moth and the castor silkworm, and the offspring produced have increased significantly in size and amount of spit silk.
Summary: If you're lucky, you might see this beautiful Giant mac while walking.
Thank you for watching.
A brief introduction to the study of the distant hybridization of castor silkworm and great squid silkworm
Author: Chen Zhiyi Title: Guangdong Sericulture
Artificial rearing techniques of the large silkworm moth
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A preliminary exploration of the biological habits of the great silkworm moth
Author: Bai Wei; Zhang Hong; Bai Wen Title: Modern Horticulture