Antheraea mylitta

Antheraea mylitta(Antheraea mylitta)

Phylumarthropoda
Class —insecta
Order —lepidoptera
Family —saturniidae

Genus –antheraea

Appearance

Newborn caterpillars are black and brown. Later, they turn pale green. The caterpillar is covered with hairs.

The wingspan of these butterflies is 14-19 cm. Females are larger and thicker than males. The body and wings of the butterfly are also covered with hairs. Males have feathery antennae. The main background color is brown. There is a light stripe along the lower edges of the wings. On each wing there are large spots-eyes.

Habitat

It lives in East and Southeast Asia.

Behavior

Butterflies are nocturnal. Sometimes these butterflies are bred to produce silk from cocoons.

Diet

This species feeds mainly on Terminalia trees and on Shorearobusta. It also eats many other kinds of plants, with various ecoracesspecializing on certain taxa. Other plants appearing in its diet include Indian jujube (Ziziphusmauritiana), axlewood (Anogeissuslatifolia), jambul (Syzygiumcumini), kumbi (Careyaarborea), anjan (Hardwickiabinata), and species of teak (Tectona spp.) and crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia spp.).

Adult butterflies of this species do not feed and eat the supplies accumulated during the larval period.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a terrarium with a size of 70 x 70 x 90 cm.

Each female lays up to 200 eggs. The eggs are white, 2.5 mm long. The duration of incubation is 8-10 days. Incubation takes place at a humidity of 70-80% and a temperature of 22-24 °C. Forage plants should be replaced every 3-4 days.It is better to keep the caterpillars in mesh terrariums of 6-8 pieces.In the terrarium, you need to place a branch of a forage plant.The temperature in this place is 24-25 oC at the humidity is 60-70%. The caterpillar develops for about a month. The caterpillar then makes a cocoon in which it pupates. The cocoons are silver-gray. The pupa is dark brown. The butterfly leaves the cocoon after 3-4 weeks. The butterfly's life span is 12-17 days.

In captivity

The mesh cage with a size of 50 × 50 × 70 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary. Daylight time is 12 hours.

 

 

 

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