Actias gnoma gnoma
AKT-ee-uhsMNOHM-uh
(Butler, 1877)

Actias gnoma gnoma male and female, Japan,
courtesy of Andreas Riekert, Germany

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Saturniini, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Genus: Actias, Leach, 1815

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DISTRIBUTION:

Actias gnoma gnoma (wingspan: males: approx. 75mm; females: approx. 85mm) flies in Japan.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The preferred foodplants probably are Alnus japonica, Castanea crenata and Quercus acutissima. Robert Lemaitre reports success with Alnus cordata. Ian Mascall writes, "I am rearing some Actias gnoma from Japan, and I have a new foodplant for your list: Grey alder - Alnus incana."

Moths are probably on the wing in May-June and again in August, probably as two generations.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males fly in a zigzag pattern in the night sky in an effort to locate, with their highly developed antennae, the female pheromone plume.

Females have the traditional green colouration but tails are extremely long. The forewings of the female are also broader than those of the male.

Note the much narrower antennae of the female.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

The larvae in the images below were reared on Alnus cordata. The first instar larva is almost completely black except for some small, reddish-orange patches on the back.

The second instar larva has a chestnut brown head, reddish-orange skin, black scoli topped with black hairs, rows of small black dots and off-white spiracles defined by darker lateral "brackets".

In the third instar, the larval skin becomes green, the head is greenish-brown, scoli are orange with a black base, there is a dark red subspiracular line, underlined with yellow, and many hairs emanate from the scoli.

Subsequent instars maintain the same pattern, but seem to become progressively more hairy.

Actias gnoma, Japan, first instar, courtesy of Steve Kohll and Robert Lemaitre.

Actias gnoma, Japan, second instar, courtesy of Steve Kohll and Robert Lemaitre.

Actias gnoma, Japan, third instar, courtesy of Steve Kohll and Robert Lemaitre.

Actias gnoma, Japan, fourth instar, courtesy of Steve Kohll and Robert Lemaitre.

Actias gnoma, Japan, fifth instar, courtesy of Steve Kohll and Robert Lemaitre.

Actias gnoma, Japan, fifth instar, courtesy of Martin Jagelka.

Visit Actias gnoma instars 1-5, courtesy of Rainer Plontke.

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.

Alnus cordata Alnus incana Alnus japonica Castanea crenata Quercus acutissima........

Italian alder Grey alder (IM) Japanese alder Sweet chestnut Sawtooth oak

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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.

The species name "gnoma" may be from the Greek word meaning knowledge, and could be for the "knowing eyes" of the hindwings.

The genus name, Actias, probably comes from the Greek Actaeon, who is the hunter who had the misfortune of being torn to pieces by his own dogs after accidentally encountering the naked goddess Artemis. To punish him, Artemis splashed water on Actaeon and turned him into a stag.