Actias selene

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Indian Moon Moth

Actias selene, adult male

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Saturniidae
Genus:	Actias
Species:	A. selene

Binomial name

Actias selene
(Hübner, 1807)

The Indian Moon Moth or Indian Luna Moth (Actias selene) is a species of moth. This species is popular among amateur entomologists and is often reared from eggs or cocoons that are available from commercial sources.

1 Range
2 Adult
3 Host Plants
4 Trivia
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Videos

[edit] Range

This moth is quite widespread, found from India to Japan and then south into Nepal, Ceylon, Borneo, and other islands in eastern Asia. Many subspecies live in Pakistan, Afghanistan, the Philippines, Russia, China, Java, Sri Lanka, Sumatra and Borneo.

[edit] Adult

Male: Head, thorax, and abdomen white; palpi pink, prothorax with a dark pink band; legs pink. Fore wing very pale green, white at base; a dark pink costal fascia, darkest along subcostal vein: an outwardly-oblique pale yellow antemedial line ; two inwardly-oblique slightly curved submarginal lines; a pale yellow marginal band; a dark red-brown lunule at end of cell, with a grey line on it, bounding inwardly a round ochreous spot with pinkish centre. Hind wing similar to the fore wing ; the central portion of the tail pinkish. Female: The outer margin less excised and waved; the yellow markings less developed; the antemedial line of fore wing nearer the base., and that on hind wing absent; the tail less pink.^[1]

[edit] Life Cycle

Eggs are 2 mm, colored white with extensive black and brown mottling. Incubation lasts approximately 12 days and newly hatched larvae are red with a black abdominal saddle. Second instar larvae are all red with black heads. It is not until the third instar that larvae take on a green color. The developing larvae prefer humid conditions.

[edit] Larva

Larva apple-green; paired dorsal and lateral yellow spinous tubercles on each somite except the last; dorsal yellow hairs; lateral and ventral black hairs; the pad to anal claspers rufous.

[edit] Pupa

Cocoon pale brown and oval.

[edit] Images of Life Cycle

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Actias selene

Moon Moth Eggs	Hatching Caterpillars	Moon Moth Caterpillar emerging	Newly hatched cats
Newly Hatched Caterpillar	First instar larvae reared on American Sweetgum	Second instar larvae	Second instar larva with third instars in the background.
Second instar larva undergoing apolysis	Third instar larva	Third instar larvae with a second instar in the background	Fourth instar larva recently completing ecdysis
Fourth instar larva	Fifth instar larva	Fifth instar larva	Fifth instar larva closeup to show head and mouthparts
Last Moult Stage	Cocoon cut away to show prepupa stage	Adult male from the Western Ghats