DISTRIBUTION:

Aglia japonica japonica (wingspan: males: 70 mm; females: 90-100mm) flies in mixed woods in Russia: Russian Far East, Sakhalin Island, Susunaisky Mts. Ridge, Bureya River valley near Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and on Kurile Islands and Kunashir Island; and in northern Japan. Note the lighter patches on the apex of all wings. The type locality is Japan: Hokkaido Island, Hakodate.

The smaller subspecies, Aglia japonica microtau, is much smaller and is reported only from southeastern Japan.

Aglia japonica male, courtesy of Martin Jagelka.

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.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species flies in June and July.

The preferred foodplants are probably birch, beech, lime, oak, sycamore, and walnut.

Franz Renner indicates he has had success with Prunus padus, and he has only had success with that host plant.

Aglia japonica courtesy of Andrey Timchenko.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Pairing takes place from morning until noon ???, but females (usually twice the size of the male and pale in comparison) deposit their eggs under the cover of darkness.

Calling females are often located by rearers by tracking down the day-flying males. Males have large bipectinate antennae while females have almost filiform ones.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larvae are adorned with elongate scoli that become progressively shorter, all but disappearing in the later instars.

Aglia japonica larva, courtesy of Martin Jagelka.

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.

Acer pseudoplatanux Alnus cremastogyne Alnus japonica Betula alba Betula pendula Betula platyphylla Carpinus betulus Castanea crenata Corylus avellana Corylus heterophylla Fagus crenata Fagus longipetiolata...... Fagus sylvatica Ilex verticilata Juglans regia Platanus Prunus padus Pyrus communis Pyrus malus Quercus dentata Quercus robar Quercus serrata Salix capraea Tilia

Sycamore maple alder Japanese alder White birch Silver birch Japanese white birch European hornbeam Japanese chestnut European hazel Hazel Japanese beech Beech European beech Black alder English walnut Sycamore Bird Cherry Pear Apple Daimyo oak English oak Konara oak Sallow/Goat willow Basswood/Lime/linden

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

Return to Aglia genus

Goto Asian Pacific Saturniidae Index

Goto Main Saturniidae Index