DISTRIBUTION:

Antheraea halconensis (wingspan: males: approx. 148-168mm; females: 145-160mm) flies in the
Philippines: Mindoro Island and on Mindanao, Leyte, Negros and Luzon (SN). It is not reported from Palawan or from some of the other very small islands.

Antheraea halconensis male, Mt. Balocaue, Leyet, Philippines,
wingspan: 147.72mm, courtesy/copyright Kelly Price.

Antheraea halconensis male, Mount Tabon, Barangay Minoyan, Mount Kanlaon N.P.,
Negros Occidental, Philippines, March 4, 2012, courtesy of Lary E. Reeves.

Antheraea halconensis male, 168mm, Mt. Bacolod, Leyte, Philippines,
January-April 2011, courtesy of Dave Marsden.

Antheraea halconensis male (verso), 168mm, Mt. Bacolod, Leyte, Philippines,
January-April 2011, courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke.

The dark "eyelid" over the hindwing ocellus indicates a member of the helferi group.

Antheraea halconensis male, Leyte, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Antheraea halconensis male, Philippines,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Antheraea halconensis male, Negros, Philippines,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Specimens have been taken in mid August. The specimen from Mt. Balocaue, Philippines was taken in July/August 2006 between 600-1000m. There are probably multiple flights.

Antheraea halconensis female, Leyte, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Antheraea halconensis female, 145mm, Mt Canlaon, Negros, Philippines,
courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke.

Antheraea halconensis female (verso), 145mm, Mt Canlaon, Negros, Philippines,
courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Males use highly developed antennae to detect female scent which is distributed into the wind. Males fly into the wind in a zigzag pattern to detect the pheromone and subsequently locate the female.

Antheraea halconensis female, Leyte, courtesy of Jay Lindh.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

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.

"Antheraea" is derived from either the Latin "anthra" referring to pollen or from the Greek feminine of "anthros" meaning flowery. There may be a link to the large and feathery antennae which distinguish the males of this genus.

The species name, halconensis, is after Mount Halcon on Mindoro Island, Philippines.

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.

Use your browser "Back" button to return to the previous page.

Return to Antheraea Genus

Return to Main Index

Antheraea halconensis male, Leyte, courtesy of Jay Lindh.