Antheraea semperi
an-THIR-ay-uhMsem-PER-eye
(C. & R. Felder, 1861)

Antheraea semperi male, Mt. Balocaue, Leyte, Philippines,
wingspan: 133.79mm, courtesy/copyright Kelly Price.

Antheraea semperi semperi male, 131mm, Mt. Canlaon, Negros, Philippines,
January-April, 2011, courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke

Antheraea semperi semperi male (verso), 131mm, Mt. Canlaon, Negros, Philippines,
January-April, 2011, courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Tribe: Saturniini, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Genus: Antheraea, Hubner, 1819

MIDI MUSIC "Eyes for You" copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="eyes4u.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Antheraea semperi (wingspan: approx. males: 121-133mm; females: 140-154-163-165mm) flies in
the Philippines: Mindanao, Luzon, Leyte, Negros, and other islands except Palawan and Mindoro.

Antheraea semperi male, Leyte, Philippines,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

The specimens from Mt. Balocaue, Philippines were taken in July/August 2006 between 600-1000m.

Dave Marsden reports a January-April flight. There are probably additional flight months.

Alan Marson has had some success rearing them on Liquidambar.

Antheraea semperi female,
courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females attract the night flying males with an airbourne pheromone.

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

Antheraea semperi female, 165mm, Mt. Canlaon, Negros, Philippines,
January-April 2011, courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke.

Antheraea semperi female (verso), 165mm, Mt. Canlaon, Negros, Philippines,
January-April 2011, courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke.

Antheraea semperi small male, Mt. Balocaue, Leyte, Philippines,
wingspan: 120.63mm, courtesy/copyright Kelly Price.

Antheraea semperi semperi male, 133mm, Mt. Bacolod, Leyte, Philippines,
January-April, 2011, courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke

Antheraea semperi semperi male (verso), 133mm, Mt. Bacolod, Leyte, Philippines,
January-April, 2011, courtesy of Dave Marsden, id by Bill Oehlke

Antheraea semperi female, Mt. Balocaue, Leyte, Philippines,
wingspan: 162.72mm, courtesy/copyright Kelly Price.

Visit Antheraea semperi colour variations, Leyte Island, Philippines, courtesy of Kelly Price.

Visit Antheraea semperi semperi male, Mont Balocaue, Leyte, Philippines, courtesy of Philip Brems.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Offwhite, round eggs are somewhat flattened and have a pair of thin, brown lateral bands.

Hatchlings are orange with a black head and black thoracic collar, with prominent yellowish scoli emanating from between the head and the shield/collar. Images courtesy of Alan Marson.

Larvae lighten to a yellowish-orange as they develop and then become green to yellowish green with black lateral markings, still in the first instar. Images courtesy of Alan Marson.

Second instar larvae (left above) are green with bright red lateral and dorsal scoli. Third instar larvae (right above) have a much larger, dark anal clasper wedge and have some silvery white markings above the spriacles. Images courtesy of Alan Marson.

Fourth instar larvae become quite chunky and scoli are greatly reduced. There is now a single white lateral mark above the second spiracular oval.

Large oval, red spiracular circles are quite prominent in the fifth instar, and there is a silvery cap on the second spiracle.

Images courtesy of Alan Marson.

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, semperi, is honourific for Carl Gottfried Semper, (Germany 1832-1893), who conducted extensive field studies in the Philippines.

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.

Liquidambar Quercus turneri......

Liquidambar Oak

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Antheraea semperi male, Panay, Philippines,
courtesy of Anthony Darby.