DISTRIBUTION:

Antheraea pernyi (wingspan 120-150 mm) was imported into
southern China and Europe (1856) for silk production. Populations now survive in many import destinations westward of southern China.

In Taiwan it flies in Taroko National Park, Hualien County; and in Fushan Botanical Garden, Yilan County, and probably in other areas from February-March until September.

Visit Antheraea pernyi male, Chongqing, China, May 2008, courtesy of Weiwei Zhang.

Yanqun Liu of China writes, "The following is the information about origin of domesticated Chinese Oak silkworm.

"Chinese tussah originated from south middle of Shandong province in China, north latitude 35-36. Around the 16th century, Shandong peasants found a set of methods for Chinese tussah silkworm raising, which were spread to Liaoning and Henan province in the later 17th century or early 18th century, and then to Shanxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Anhui province, etc, in the mid-1700s.

"As the important agricultural biological resource, the Chinese tussah spread to foreign country besides China. At first, it spread to Korea and then Japan in 1877, and to Russia. During the late 1950s, it spread to Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, India etc."

Antheraea pernyi, Menorca (Spain - Balearic Islands), early August, 2005,
courtesy of Peter Ramsden.

Antheraea pernyi group, Tenerife, Spain,
January 26, 2011, courtesy of "Skydiver", id by Bill Oehlke.

Antheraea pernyi female, copyright protected, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Roger Kendrick from Hong Kong writes, "note 1: Single record may be an escapee. A second Hong Kong wild caught Antheraea pernyi was taken in February 2007 at Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden - the site of the release on A. pernyi eggs impregnated with parasitic wasps to control the lychee stink bug. Can't rule out accidental introduction of this species."

Visit Antheraea pernyi males, courtesy of Ian Edwards.

ECLOSION:

Eclosions are in the afternoon from large cocoons. Soft silk is used in some areas for commercial silk production. There are at least two flights annually with the first brood on the wing in May (February in Hong Kong, 2007, and FBG in Yilan Co., Taiwan), followed by a second brood in July-August.

Antheraea pernyi female

Antheraea pernyi, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

SCENTING AND MATING:

This species mates very readily even in the smallest of spaces. The pair usually remains coupled for twenty hours.

Antheraea pernyi male, courtesy of Wayne Hsu
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1803

Antheraea pernyi male, Fushan Botanical Garden, Yilan County, Taiwan,
February 21, 2011, 700m, courtesy of Bettaman.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

First instar larvae are black and devour a portion of eggshell before feeding on foliage. Larvae are solitary upon emergence and move away from small egg rows of four to six on hostplant foliage to hide on undersides of leaves.

Feeding continues for 5-6 days when larvae become quiescient in preparation for first moult when they turn green. They are voracious eaters and grow very rapidly.

There is considerable variation regarding larval colouration with some blue and some orange larvae emerging from the same egg batches. See images at end of foodplant section. Basic colouration, however, is the typical brown head, green body of Antheraea.

Larvae turn green after first molt and remain a basic green color through next four moults, consuming tremendous amounts of foliage. A fourth instar larva is depicted to the right.

The fifth instar larva pictured to the right can easily attain lengths of four inches and is quite chunky with lots of body mass going into silk production of a dense cocoon.

Antheraea pernyi larva, copyright protected, courtesy of Thibaud Decaens.

Visit Antheraea pernyi male, female, instars 2, 3, 5 and larva spinning cocoon, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Antheraea pernyi male, female, eggs, all instars, courtesy of Diego Poli and Simona Gosi.

Ian Surman writes, "Just a quick note to let you know that I have reared Antheraea pernyi successfully this winter on Eucalyptus gunnii. You may want to put this on your list of foodplants, as many people believe that they have to use Evergreen oak if they want to rear this species through the winter."

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.

Betula Carpinus Castanea cremata Cinnamomum camphora..... Crataegus pinnatifida Eucalyptus gunnii Fagus Pasania ternaticupula Prunus Pyrus malus Quercus acutissima Quercus alba Quercus aliena Quercus falcata Quercus lyrata Quercus macrocarpa Quercus petraea Quercus palustris Quercus phellos Quercus serrata Quercus robar Quercus stellata Quercus variabilis Salix Xylosma japonicum

Birch Hornbeam/Ironwood Japanese chestnut Camphor Hawthorn Cider Gum (IS) Beech Pasania ternaticupula Cherry Apple Quercus acutissima White oak Quercus aliena Southern red oak Overcup oak Bur oak Sessile oak, Cornish oak, Durmast oak Pin oak Quercus variabilis Willow oak Konara oak English oak Post oak Willow Xylosma

Return to Antheraea Genus

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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.

"Antheraea" is derived from either the Latin "anthra" referring to pollen held in the anther (top part of stamen = male part of flower) or from the Greek feminine of "anthros" meaning flowery. There may be a link to the large and feathery antennae which distinguish many of the males of this genus.

The species name, pernyi, is honourific for Perny.