DISTRIBUTION:

Antheraea frithi (wingspan: males: 107-126; females: 120-134mm) flies in
northern and western Thailand: Chiang Mai and Sara Buri;
Laos,
Cambodia,
Vietnam,
and
possibly Burma = Myanmar.

It also flies in northern India: (TL: N. India),
Bhutan: wesstern Bhutan, 1500m, May-June,
Nepal: April-August,
and southwestern China: Sichuan.

Antheraea frithi ssp. ?, male, Burma, courtesy of Victor Siniaev of Russia, via Yuri Berezhnoi

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Larvae feed on Cinnamomum camphora, Dipterocarpus alatus, Sapium sebiferum and Shorea robusta.

Specimens have been taken in Thailand in August and October-November. There are probably multiple flights.

Antheraea frithi male, Laos, courtesy of Ron Brechlin,
note large yellow area near forewing apex.

Antheraea frithi pedunculata female, Thailand,
courtesy of Eric Van Schayck, possibly nominate frithi (BO).

Antheraea frithi pedunculata male, Thailand,
courtesy of Eric Van Schayck, possibly nominate frithi (BO).

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females extend a scent gland from the tip of their abdomens to "call" the males. Males use their antennae to hone in on the airbourne pheromone.

Antheraea frithi female

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE: First instar larvae are black with chestnut brown heads and pale yellowish hairs emanating from ridged segments on the body. Antheraea frithi first instars on oak, courtesy of Alan Marson.

There is a dramatic colour change as larvae shed their skins to move into the second instar. Larvae are now green with orange scoli and a yellow lateral line. Antheraea frithi second instar on sweetgum, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Alan writes, "The A. frithii are on Oak and Liquidambar. I also started some on Eucalyptus gunnii, but they weren't growing as fast as the rest so I switched those to Oak." Third instar below.

Larvae of Antheraea frithi resemble others of the genus Antheraea. Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Alan Marson writes, "I've been rearing some larvae of Antheraea frithi (origin : Anhui Province, China). They took readily to Liquidambar, Oak and Eucalyptus gunni. However, the ones on Eucalyptus were growing more slowly than the rest so I switched them to Oak.

"They have grown well on both Liquidambar and Oak - though the ones on Liquidambar have made rather better progress. One interesting thing that I have noticed is that none of the 20+ larvae on Liquidambar have the "silver droplets" which are common in large larvae in this genus. However, about half of 30+ on Oak have them. It's too big a difference to be coincidence.

"I also have about 20 larvae of Antheraea roylei which are also on Liquidambar. These do, however, have "silver droplets". So it isn't a general rule that Antheraea larvae don't develop them if fed on Liquidamber.

"I've attached a couple of photos which illustrate this to some degree. The A frithi are both 5th instar - though the one on Liquidambar is more advanced. You can see the "silver droplets" on the Oak-fed individual."

Oak fed, fourth instar Antheraea frithi, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Oak fed, fifth instar Antheraea frithi, courtesy of Alan Marson.

Liquidambar fed, fifth instar Antheraea frithi, courtesy of Alan Marson.

It will be interesting to see if the adults from the different hosts show a consistent variation.

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.

Cinnamomum camphora.......... Dipterocarpus alatus Sapium sebiferum Shorea robusta....

Camphor Dipterocarpus alatus Chinese tallow-tree Sal

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Antheraea frithi?? (unikely) subspecies from Sichuan, China,
120mm, June 2006, courtesy of Weiwei Zhang.

Antheraea frithi ?? male, Thailand,
courtesy of Eric Van Schayck.

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On my home computer only: notes on Saturniidae of Bhutan by Ronald Brechlin (in English) as published in Entomo-Satsphingia 2 (1): 47 – 55 (March 2009)

The actual hardcopy editions of Entomo-Satsphingia may be purchased via the link to the left.