This subspecies has been taken in Odaigahara Kamikitayama, Nara, Japan’s Nara Prefecture, in south-central Honshu, Japan

Kyushu Island: Miyazaki Prefecture; Honshu: Kansai region: Osaka prefecture; Honshu: Kanto region: Saitama Prefecture

Aglia japonica microtau from southeastern Japan is very similar to the nominate subspecies from northern Japan and northeastern Russia, but subspecies microtau is much smaller than its nominate counterpart.

Aglia japonica microtau male, courtesy of Hideshi Naka.

Aglia japonica microtau male, Osaka Prefecture, Japan.

Aglia japonica microtau male, Japan.

Aglia japonica microtau male, Japan.

Aglia japonica microtau male (verso), Japan.

Aglia japonica microtau male (possibly nominate japonica), Saitama, Japan,
courtesy of Takehiko Sato.

Aglia japonica microtau female.

Aglia japonica microtau female.

Aglia japonica microtau female (verso).

Eggs to Cocoon
April 27- June 4, 2001

Adult moths fly in April and May. The eggs of Aglia japonica microtau are brown, shiny, and slightly flattened, resembling beans. Aglia japonica microtau (wingspan 2.5-3 inches/52-75mm) flies in Japan

This day old larva is well adorned with armaments to protect it from would-be-predators. Larvae tend to be solitary and do not move around much even in later instars.

This dorsal view and other images courtesy of Hideshi Naka in Japan. These larvae definitely do not like crowding. Rearing in cramped artificial quarters would likely prove disastrous.

After just a few days of feeding larvae progress to the second instar. Body girth has increased considerably relative to the size of the head, now green.

This dorsal view shows what a predator might see from the ground or lower branches.

Larvae tend to be quite sedentary and grow rapidly. This third instar larva has been out of the eggshell for less than two weeks. The lateral line is almost the same colour and width as leaf veins.

Colour of the "munched off" central vein tip is same as reddish brown tips of spines which project from the head at almost the same angle as that of secondary veins from central vein. All images on this page are courtesy of Hideshi Naka of Japan.

I (Bill Oehlke) am convinced larvae have a sensing mechanism, through the eyes or other organs, that enables them to process shapes and colours from their environment into "body design", and that this information is stored in a genetic code.

I believe this active process takes precedence over "survival of fittest" transmission of desired traits, and that there may well be a creative "intelligence" that allows for developments of organs, appendages, stages etc., beyond what can be processed from the environment by the senses

"Horns" are still quite long in the fourth instar.

The images below, from May 22, show variability in horn length. All larvae are in the fifth instar and horns are greatly diminished.

Just prior to spinning cocoons, the dorsal surface of the larva turns burgundy. Legs are greatly reduced (retracted) on the ventral surface, typical of all the Saturniidae. Messy red fluid is expelled to clear the gut. The silk is tough but the cocoon is very porous.

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.

Often names were chosen without any direct link to the characters of the genus or species.

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.

In Greek mythology, Aglia is one of the Graces and is the wife of Hypnos. Also known as Pasithea, Aglia is the mother of Morpheus.

The species name, japonica, is for the range, Japan.

The subspecies name is for the small size (micro) of this moth and the "T" (tau) in the hindwing ocellus.

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