Attacus atlas, the Atlas moth, is a large Saturniidae moth endemic to the forests of Asia. The species was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The Atlas moth is one of the largest lepidopterans, with a wingspan measuring up to [Watson, A. & Whalley, P.E.S. (1983). The Dictionary of Butterflies and Moths in Colour. Peerage Books, London, England. ][Robert G. Foottit & Peter H. Adler. 2009. Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ][Rainier Flindt. 2006. Amazing Numbers in Biology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. ]
Etymology
Atlas moths are named after Atlas, the Titan of
Greek mythology (due to their size). In
Hong Kong, the
Cantonese means "snake's head moth", referring to the prominent extension of the forewing that resembles the head of a
snake.
[Yiu, V. (2006). Insecta Hongkongica. Hong Kong Discovery. Kowloon, Hong Kong. 655pp. ]
Description
Eggs
Atlas moths lay a number of spherical
, in diameter, on the undersides of the leaves of food plants.
Larva
After approximately two weeks, dusty-green
hatch and feed on their egg-shell, and then the foliage of
citrus,
cinnamon,
guava, and
evergreen trees.
[Robinson, G.S., Ackery, P.R., Kitching, I.J., Beccaloni, G.W. & Hernández, L.M. (2001). Hostplants of the Moth and Butterfly Caterpillars of the Oriental Region. Southdene Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur & The Natural History Museum, London. 744 pp. ] The caterpillars can grow to in length and in thickness. They have white, waxy, fleshy spines along their backs, which become more prominent at later
. On the last abdominal segment beside the
, there is a large green spot surrounded by an orange ring.
Pupa
After reaching a length of about , the caterpillars
. They spin a 7–8 cm long papery
chrysalis interwoven with desiccated leaves and attach it to a twig using a strand of silk. The adult moths emerge from the cocoon after approximately four weeks depending on environmental factors.
Imago
Adult Atlas moths are weak, unsteady fliers. To conserve energy, the moths rest during the day and fly at night. As they lack fully formed mouthparts, the adults cannot eat, subsisting entirely on fat reserves accumulated during the larval stage. As a result, they live for only a few days during which their sole objective is seeking out a mate. Adults may be found on wing throughout the year but are most abundant between November and January.
Females release through a gland on the end of the abdomen to attract a mate. Females stay near discarded cocoons, seeking out a perch where the air currents will best carry their pheromones. Males can detect and home in on these pheromones from several kilometers away using located on their feathery antennae.[Shepherd, G.M. (1994). "Chemical Senses". In Neurobiology 3rd Edition. Oxford University Press]
The body is small compared to the wings. The upper side of the wings is reddish brown with a pattern of black, white, pink, and purple lines. There are triangular, scale-less windows bordered in black on each of the four wings. The undersides of the wings are paler. The tips of both forewings have prominent extensions that resemble the head of a snake. The resemblance is exaggerated by movements of the wings when the moth is confronted by potential predators.[Howse, P.E. (2010) Butterflies: Messages From Psyche Papadakis, 192 pp. ] Atlas moth has a very short, vestigial proboscis, and they do not eat once they have emerged from the cocoon, relying on fat storage for energy. Every flight takes valuable energy and can take days off their already short lives, as it has a very short life span of only one to two weeks.
Habitat
Their
habitat is primarily dry
, secondary forests, and shrublands across
South Asia,
East Asia, and
Southeast Asia, including
Borneo.
[Holloway, J.D. (1987). The Moths of Borneo, part 3: Lasiocampidae, Eupteroptidae, Bombycidae, Brahmaeidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae. Southdene Sdn. Bhd., Kuala Lumpur]
Relationship with humans
In
India, Atlas moths are cultivated for their
silk in a non-commercial capacity. Unlike silk produced by the related
Bombyx mori (
Bombyx mori), Atlas moth silk is secreted as broken strands and is therefore less desirable. This brown, wool-like silk, known as
fagara, is thought to have greater durability.
[Jolly, M.S., Sen, S.K., Sonwalkar, T.N. & Prasad, G.S. (1979). Non-mulberry silks. Food & Agriculture Organisation. United Nations, Serv. Bull. 29. Rome. xvii + 178pp] Atlas moth cocoons are sometimes used as small pocket change purses in
Taiwan. There is ongoing research as to whether the silk of the Atlas moth can be used as a substitute for common silks. The quality of the heavier cocoons, less restrictive rearing conditions, and competent properties of the fibers, make the silk produced by the Atlas moth a potential alternative for common silks. A study concluded that the silk fibers of the atlas moth had about an 80% higher density of cells and growth compared to the silk fibers of the silk moth.
The subspecies A. a. ryukyuensis, is native to Yonaguni in the Yaeyama Islands.
Similar taxa
The term "Atlas moth" is sometimes used mistakenly as a name for any species in the genus
Attacus, of which there are over 20 named species and subspecies.
Attacus taprobanis native to
southern India and
Sri Lanka is very similar in morphology to the much more widely distributed
Attacus atlas. It was once considered a subspecies of
A. atlas.
A few
New World species can be mistaken for Atlas moths, specifically members of the genus
Rothschildia. Very similar in appearance to the Asian Atlas moth,
Rothschildia aurota is one of the largest members of its genus and a
Neotropical relative.
See also
External links
