Giant Silkworm Moths

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Subphylum: Hexapoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Saturniidae

There are around 1,500 species of large moths in this family. Species in this family are found all over the world, but the largest number of species are found in the tropics. The largest moth in North America, the cecropia moth, is a member of this family.

Many of the moths in this family are brightly colored and have large, transparent eyespots. Many species have large, feathery antennae. Most species in this family are nocturnal, and the adults live for a short period, usually less than a week, and do not feed.

Many of the caterpillars of species in this family are brightly colored and covered with spines, although some or smooth or fuzzy! Most of the caterpillars in this family feed on the foliage of trees or shrubs. Many species spin a cocoon that is attached to a host plant or hidden under leaf litter.

Silkworm moths are not in the same family as the mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori) that is raised in captivity and used to create the silk that is used in clothing, but silk from the cocoons of some some species of giant silkworm moths, like the Chinese Tussah moth (Antheraea pernyi) and the Assam silkmoth (Antheraea assamensis), has been cultivated in the wild and used to create silk cloth.