Cecropia Moths are hatching at Morgan Outdoors!

May 30, 2019

A friend bestowed us with several Cecropia cocoons so that we could enjoy watching them emerge as beautiful winged moths.

It is a sight to behold.

Stop in and perhaps one will be hatched.

There’s more about the Cecropia Moth HERE!

The sole purpose of this adult stage is to mate and lay eggs. Adult moths cannot eat, so they will live for approximately two weeks unless they are eatern by a predator. We release them into the wild after dark to minimize the chances of them being seen.

Other Common Names : Robin Moth

Wingspan 110-150 mm

Adult: wings dark brownish, grey or charcoal-black with red shading in basal area of forewing; discal spot crescent-shaped, red with whitish center on all wings; red shading beyond PM line on all wings [this last characteristic distinguishes H. cecropia from H. columbia, which has no red shading beyond PM line]

Larva: body very large, bright green or sea green with prominent dorsal knobs: thoracic knobs orange, abdominal ones yellow; sides of body with pale blue knobs; Columbia Silkmoth (H. columbia) is very similar, but thoracic knobs red, abdominal knobs yellow-pink, knobs along sides more white than blue and set in black bases.

Populations of this species can be found across most of continental North America east of the Rocky Mountains.

from Peterson Field Guides: Eastern Moths

By Charles V. Covell,  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984
ISBN: 0-395-36100-1
Unfortunately, this excellent reference book is no longer in print. If you find it used, grab it!