DISTRIBUTION:

Antheraea roylii, the Royal Silkmoth (wingspan: males: 145-158mm; females: 160-178mm), flies in India: (TL: N India);
Bhutan: common in western Bhutan at elevations of 2500-3200m, occasionally at 1500m;
Nepal;
Thailand: Chiang Mai, Kanchanaburi, Nakhon Nayok;
Laos;
Cambodia;
Myanmar;
southwestern China; and
Vietnam: Lam Dong. it flies as subspecies A. roylii korintjiana in Sumatra, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia.

"Taxonomic note: The ground colour of the males varies from ochre-grey to grey and greenish tones. In contrast, the females I found are lacking the darker tones. The reddish specimens (e.g. see HARUTA 1992: plate 26, fig. 3 [as Antheraea helferi helferi] and ALLEN 1993: 59, fig. 41.c [as “Reddish-brown form” of Antheraea roylei [sic]]) have now been found to be distinct and are here described as Antheraea (A.) rubicunda n. sp."

Antheraea roylii female, Lam Dong, Vietnam,
1600m, April 3, 2008, courtesy of Vu Van Lien.

Stefan Naumann, April 2006 writes, "Concerning the spelling of roylii, you are right that the name is dedicated to J. F. Royle. But if you check the original description (or e.g. the Antheraea papers by Paukstadt & Brosch), you will see that it was based on the latinized spelling Roylius which was common in the time of the description, so the correct spelling clearly is roylii as the author had the right to decide the orginal spelling. Unfortunately in forthcoming literature you always find the misspelling roylei (or even roileyi) as most workers do not work on the basement of nomenclature."

Antheraea roylii male, courtesy of Anthony Darby.

Antheraea roylii male, Nepal,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

Teemu Klemetti offers the following regarding flight on peninsular Malaysia: "Antheraeas flew for the whole period 8th of March-26th of May. They may have peaks March-May and October-December - males 1:00-5:00 am, females 8:00pm (rosieri) or midnight (youngi, ulrichbroschi)."

In Thailand there are records for January-February, April-May, July-August and October-November. The moth probably broods continuously.

In Bhutan specimens have been taken in May-July. In Nepal it has been taken in March-July. Larvae prefer various species of oak.

Antheraea roylii male, courtesy of Anthony Darby.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females attract the night flying males with an airbourne pheromone.

The forewings of the male are much more falcate than those of the female.

Antheraea roylii male, courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

Antheraea roylii, lfw 89mm, female, verso, Mount Gaoligong, Yunnan, China,
courtesy of "Tim of Insects", id by Bill Oehlke.

Antheraea roylii, lfw 89mm, female, Mount Gaoligong, Yunnan, China,
courtesy of "Tim of Insects", id by Bill Oehlke.

Antheraea roylii/rubicunda??, female, Nepal,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larvae need warm (30 C), humid conditions.

Antheraea roylii fourth instar courtesy of Franz and Julian Renner.

Antheraea roylii fifth instar courtesy of Franz and Julian Renner.

Antheraea roylii, courtesy of Mario Ioppolo.

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.

Bassia latifolia Bassia longifolia Betula alnoides Cyperus esculentus Daphniphyllum himalense..... Euodia fraxinifolia Prunus puddum Pyrus communis Pyrus malus Quercus dealbata Quercus dilatata Quercus glauca Quercus himalayana Quercus ilex Quercus incana Quercus robur Quercus semicarpifolia Quercus semiserrata Quercus serrata Quercus tueneri

Mohwa tree Mohwa tree Indian birch Nutsedge Daphniphyllum Poyam Wild black cherry Pear Apple Oak Green oak of the Himalaya Oak Oak Holly/Holm oak Grey oak English oak Oak Oak Konara oak Oak

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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.