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Cecropia Moth - Hyalophora cecropia

cecropia
Characteristics
Range
Habitat
Diet
Life Cycle
Behavior

 Classification

 Phylum: Arthropoda
 Class: Insecta
 Order: Lepidoptera
 Family: Saturniidae
 Genus: Hyalophora


Cecropia Moth
   
  Characteristics
Cecropia MothThe cecropia moth is the largest North American moth. It has a wingspan of 5-6 inches. It is a very colorful moth. it has a red body with white stripes. reddish-brown wings with crescent-shaped white marks and eyespots on the upper tips. The edges of its wings are a light tan. The cecropia caterpillar is about four inches in length and is greenish-blue and it has two rows of red, yellow, and blue spiny tubercles on its body.

  Range

MapThe cecropia moth is found east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada.

 
  Habitat

The cecropia moth can be found in open areas with trees.

  Diet
Cecropia MothThe cecropia caterpillar eats the leaves of many trees and shrubs, including ash, birch, box elder, alder, elm, maple, poplar, wild cherry, plum, willow, apple, and lilac. The cecropia moth does not eat. It's only purpose it to mate. It only lives for a few weeks.
  Life Cycle
Cecropia MothThe female cecropia moth lays rows of eggs on both sides of a leaf on a tree or shrub. The eggs hatch in 10-14 days and the caterpillars begin eating the host tree or shrub's leaves. The cecropia cocoon is crescent shaped and is attached to a tree branch. There is one generation of cecropia born each year.

  Behavior
The cecropia moth is mostly nocturnal and is rarely seen in the day.

 


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