Two More Hyalophora Eclosions and First Pairing

We had two more cecropia moth (Hyalophora cecropia) eclosions today as well as our first pairing.

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It looks like these cecropias are very synchronized in their eclosions, as two more eclosed two - one male and one female. Both eclosed in the morning and give off a strong musty scent, a characteristic of Hyalophora moths.

The male is larger than the one from yesterday, probably the largest in the brood. The female is extremely large as well, with a wingspan easily 15 cm. The main size difference between the male and female, however, is in the abdomen, not the wingspan. The female's abdomen is full of eggs and is rounder and massive compared to the male's. When squeezed, the ovipositar is revealed. 

Besides the more massive abdomen, the female's wings are a wider shape and less falcate comapred to the male's. The antennae are also much thinner with no huge, feathery pectinations. The red coloration also seems to be lighter and more orangish, especially on the thorax and legs. Other than that, the sexes are not very dimorphic at all which seems to be the case with most Attacini moths except the Callosamia genus.

As thought these moths pair almost instantly. When it got dark, we put them outside in a flight cage to get the pheromones moving, and very quickly the male found its way to the female and paired. We took them back in and put them in a container placed in darkness to let them finish their business. The moths are paired at a 180 degree angle, though they can move around and hang at different angles if they want to. We should expect them to stay paired until tomorrow and for the female to lay eggs over the week. 

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​Authors
Alan Liang

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