Kingdom Animalia Class Insecta Family Saturniidae Scientific name Callosamia promethea | Phylum Arthropoda Order Lepidoptera Tribe Attacini Rank Species | |
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Similar Callosamia, Antheraea polyphemus, Hyalophora, Callosamia angulifera, Hyalophora cecropia | ||
Callosamia promethea cherry silkmoth
The Promethea Silkmoth (Callosamia promethea), is a member of the Saturniidae family of moths.
Contents
Promethea moth caterpillars callosamia promethea
Description
Adult males have dark brownish-black wings with a faint white line and pinkish coloring near a single spot on their forewings. Adult females are bright reddish-pink or a brownish color with well-developed reniform spots. Their wingspan measures 7.5-8.5 cm.
Larvae have a pale green to bluish white body. Pairs of yellow-orange to red tubercles appear dorsally along the second and third thoracic segments in addition to a single yellow tubercle on the eighth abdominal segment. Larvae can reach 5-6 cm. in length before pupation.
Range
C. promethea is found in the eastern United States and areas adjacent to southern Canada.
Life cycle
Females lay eggs on host plants during at night. underside of leaves. The early instar larvae are gregarious and feed together on the underside of leaves, but become solitary in later instars. On the lower branches of the food plant, the larva makes a cocoon within a leaf attached to the petiole to the branch. C. promethea has 1 brood in the north (which flies from June–July) and 2 or more broods in the south (which fly from March–May and from July–August).
Food Plants
The larvae of C. promethea feed on a variety of plants including- but not restricted to- the following: