On a pleasant Sunday morning one June, my family and I awoke to find a gigantic moth on the outside of our kitchen window. It was a polyphemus moth, the largest – and the least common - of the giant silk moths that can be found in Western New York.
While my daughter and I thought its wingspan of a half foot was intriguing, my wife found it unsettling, as it reminded her of a bat. She’s not the first person that I’ve heard share such thoughts and she won’t be the last.
Man is not the only creature frightened by polyphemus moths. Animals that could
be considered potential predators like birds and frogs are also put off by the
moth’s appearance. That can be attributed to the appearance of eyes on its
large wings, which makes attackers think that it’s the face of a much larger
animal, like a cat or something.
In the picture that accompanies this article you will notice how it looks in a partially-closed state – there are two small eyes on the wings while the abdomen looks like a nose to complement the face. I did not get a picture of its wings being fully open, but, if I did, you would have seen two gigantic multi-colored eyes on its lower wings. It’s quite the sight and you can imagine why an animal might be frightened by it. And that is where it gets its name – Polyphemus was a one-eyed man-monster from the island of the Cyclops, made famous in Homer’s Odyssey.
Now is the time to watch for polyphemus moths in Allegany County. They emerge
from their cocoons in late-May and early-June. In southern states, you will
actually see two broods of moths, one in May and another in August. But, due to
our northern climes, we see them just once a year for a small period of time
(maybe a two-week window).
These beautiful flying insects will be attracted to lights at night, which is
why the specimen we saw lit on our window…he was no doubt enamored with the
nightlight by that window.
As ugly as they may be to some people, they are even uglier when young. Their
caterpillars are nearly hairless, bright green, squat creatures, thicker around
than a big man’s thumb. They will reach three and a half inches in length.
They are none too numerous, though, as the adult female lays just 3 to 5 eggs
on the underside of a leaf. Coming out of the egg, the caterpillar eats the
shell and then proceeds to devour leaves of trees like oaks and maples, their
preferred foods. They are voracious – it’s said that polyphemus caterpillars
will eat 86,000 times their weight over their life cycle.
In the late-summer, the caterpillar will wrap itself in a large leaf and then
spin a huge, hairy cocoon of silk. The light-brown, hair-like oval cocoon is
about half the size of a chicken egg. It’s a sight to see a silk moth hatch
from them in the spring, the large beast coming out of the pupal home and
stretching out its newfound wings.
If you have a chance to see one of these magnificent insects, don’t be afraid.
Leave that to the animals that might otherwise feed on them – it’s a great
defense mechanism that ensures we can forever enjoy these giants of the insect
world.
From the 31 May 2022 Wellsville Sun
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