Atlas Moth Eggs Arrive

Our Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas) eggs arrived today from an Italian breeder. They were originally sourced from Indonesia.

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Today we had 30 Atlas moth eggs arrive from a breeder in Italy. They arrived sealed in a small petri dish and upon opening it, one had collapsed already but the rest looked plump and alive. They are a mottled pinkish brown color and are mostly round and flat on the bottom. This is the second time we have purchased Atlas Moth eggs in four years, the first time of which all the eggs hatched or died during shipping. This time, international shipping was fairly quick, taking just 11 days, so the eggs didn't hatch yet and will probably do so within the next 3-4 days or so. 

Regarding some background information about the Atlas Moth, it is found in Southeast Asia and is the second largest moth in  the world in terms of total wing surface area after the related Hercules moth (Coscinocera hercules), with wingspans reaching 11 inches. Despite having such large wings, it simply has a large wing to body size ratio and is not nearly the largest moth in terms of body mass. The Atlas Moth has brown wings with large transparent windows on each wing and snake-like heads on the forewings. The larva is whitish green with fleshy scoli with a waxy powder coating much like the related Samia, Acheoattacus, and Coscinocera caterpillars. They feed on a wide range of deciduous hosts in their native Southeast Asian tropics, but will accept Privet (Ligustrum) and Prunus in captivity like most Attacini caterpillars. Speaking of which, Attacus is the type genus for the Attacini tribe since the members of the genus are considered very typical of this group of Saturniids. Looking at the other Attacini moths, they do indeed bear quite a resemblance to the Atlas Moth, especially the Rothschildia which are said to be New World relatives of the Attacus genus. 

We decided to have a go at this species since it is such a popular species in Europe and Asia (sort of like the Cecropia Moth in the U.S.), and has such an incredible wingspan that would be quite a sight in real life. We plan to feed the caterpillars Privet since it is evergreen here. This species is considered to be relatively easy to rear under warm and humid, though this makes it tricky to prevent disease. Either way, we decided to try it anyways, since at least we have a chance of success. A while ago, we said that the White-lined Sphinxes was going to be the last non-local species we would obtain this year, but we sort of lied (gotta have some more self restraint...). But really, this time the Atlas Moth will definitely be the last one since deciduous trees around here are senescing.