DISTRIBUTION:

The Antherina suraka moth flies in
a href=http://www.silkmoths.bizland.com/Africansats/Madagascarsats.htm>Madagascar.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

In its natural habitat, suraka broods continuously and larvae feed on Oleander, (Nerium), Stopper/Waterboom (Eugenia) and Maesa.

Antherina suraka male, courtesy of Robert Thompson copyright.

Antherina suraka male, courtesy of Scott Sikes.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females attract the night flying males with an airbourne pheromone. Males are more vividly coloured than females and wings tend to be more falcate.

Antherina suraka female, courtesy of Horst Kach.

Antherina suraka female, courtesy of Horst Kach.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

When larvae first emerge, they are semi-gregarious (first two instars) and appear black. This second stage larva, on plum, developed larger orange markings as it progressed. See an additional series of larval images courtesy of Rainer Plontke.

I sometimes scan larvae by placing them on foliage "bridged" across a flatbed scanner. In the image to the right, the bridge wasn't high enough and scoli are shown bent by the scanner glass. See second set of Antherina suraka larval images, courtesy of Rainer Plontke.

Larvae grow at varying rates and there is considerable difference in colouration from one larva to another. Here a fourth instar larva, now a solitary feeder, shows little black.

This fifth instar larva, reared on plum, did not grow to near its normal size; instead the pupa was about the size of that of a female io. I have seen specimens of this moth that have wingspans approaching six inches.

This cocoon was spun up in the bottom of the sleeve in behaviour typical of those Saturniidae which leave the host plant to spin in surrounding debris and brush. The pupal shell (emerged) is clearly visible through the light silk mesh.

Gary Lane reports full sized larvae reared on sumac, (Rhus).

Antherina suraka, fifth instar, reared on staghorn sumac,
courtesy of Gary Lane.

Antherina suraka, double-walled cocoon, reared on staghorn sumac,
courtesy of Gary Lane.

Antherina suraka, cocoons, reared on staghorn sumac,
courtesy of Gary Lane.

Additional larval photos of fourth and fifth instar larvae are depicted to the right. Visit beautiful images of third-fifth instars of Antherina suraka courtesy of Taylor Jones.

Many thanks go to Leroy Simon for his images

Visit Antherina suraka males, female, larvae, courtesy of Patrick Basquin.

Visit Antherina suraka male, female, eggs, all instars larvae, pupa, cocoon, courtesy of Diego Poli and Simona Gosi.

Larval Food Plants

It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Crataegus Eugenia Fagus Fruit trees Ligustrum ovalifolium ....... Ligustrum vulgare Liquidambar Maesa Nerium Rhus typhina (GL) Salix Salix versicolor Schinus Strophanthus ..... Vitis vinifera

Hawthorn Stopper/Waterboom Beech Fruit trees (plum) Privet Privet Sweetgum Maesa Oleander Sumac Willow Salix versicolor Peppertree Strophanthus European/Wine grape

Return to Main Saturniidae Index

Return to Antherina Genus

The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

Some of the early describers/namers chose genus and species names indicating some character of the insect, but more often, they simply chose names from Greek or Roman mythology or history.

Those species names which end in "ensis" indicate a specimen locale, and those which end in "i", pronounced "eye", honour a contempory friend/collector/etc.

The genus name "Antherina", comes from the Latin and Greek word "anther", relating to males. 'Ina' as a suffix means 'a smaller version of' or 'in the likeness of'. Male Antheraea suraka have well developed antennae, and moth colouration and hindwing eyespots are suggestive of the Antheraea genus.

The species name 'suraka' might be the original name of the famous Greek city of Syracuse.

Antherina suraka male, courtesy of Jurgen Vanhoudt.

Antherina suraka female, courtesy of Jurgen Vanhoudt.

Antherina suraka third instar on Ligustrum,, courtesy of Jurgen Vanhoudt.

Antherina suraka fourth instar on Ligustrum, courtesy of Jurgen Vanhoudt.

Antherina suraka fifth instar on Ligustrum, courtesy of Jurgen Vanhoudt.