Animalia > Arthropoda > Insecta > Lepidoptera > Saturniidae > Argema > Argema mittrei

Argema mittrei (Comet moth)

Synonyms: Argema cometes; Argema idae; Argema idea; Argema immaculata; Argema madagascariensis

Wikipedia Abstract

The Comet moth (Argema mittrei) or Madagascan moon moth is an African moth, native to the rain forests of Madagascar. The male has a wingspan of twenty centimeters and a tail span of fifteen centimeters, making it one of the world's largest silk moths. The female lays from 120-170 eggs, and after hatching the larvae feed on Eugenia and Weinmannia leaves for approximately two months before pupating. The cocoon has numerous holes to keep the pupa from drowning in the daily rains of its natural habitat. The adult moth cannot feed and only lives for 4 to 5 days. Although endangered in the wild due to habitat loss, the Comet moth is being successfully bred in captivity.
View Wikipedia Record: Argema mittrei

Prey / Diet

Malosma laurina (laurel sumac)[1]
Schinus molle (false pepper)[1]
Schinus terebinthifolia (Florida holly)[1]
Searsia pyroides (staghorn sumac)[1]
Toxicodendron pubescens (poison oak)[1]

External References

Citations

Attributes / relations provided by
1HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Species taxanomy provided by GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-06-13; License: CC BY 4.0