Cecropia Moth - Insect Art

Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia)

The adult Cecropia, a member of the Giant Silkworm family, do not have functioning mouthparts and do not feed. This characteristic has coevolved along with their pheromone mating system: the ability of females to attract distant males, and thus their characteristic feathery antennae. They range east of the Rocky Mountains and are found in a variety of open areas such as backyards and woodlands. The caterpillar eats the foliage of many trees and shrubs. This specimen was hand-reared on Black Cherry, Prunus serotina. It uses nearby foliage as a mold to start spinning its cocoon, producing a complex "cocoon within a cocoon" double structure. The inner cocoon is suspended within a network of loose silk resembling coarse steel wool.The caterpillar is capable of varying its silk color to match dried foliage or branches from which it is suspended. The cocoon over-winters and the moth emerges in May.

Artist: Kathie Miranda
E-mail address: kathiemiranda@me.com
Website: http://www.kathiemiranda.com

MotherMonarchSlideShow.mov

Atala Butterfly (Eumaeus atala)

Atala Butterfly (Eumaeus atala)
Insect art to promote insect growth and development.

The Atala Butterfly, once thought to be extinct, is native to Florida. The host plant is the Florida coontie (Zamia floridana), which is a cycad, a "living fossil," (a form of the primitive plant life from the dinosaur era). The Atala can tolerate the natural toxins in coonties and uses the accumulated toxins and its brilliant coloration as a defense against bird predators. The female lays her eggs, five to fifteen, usually, on coontie stalks (depicted here) or deposited on the apex of mature leaflets. Caterpillars are known to be cannibalistic. The butterfly emerges in the early morning, courts and mates in the late afternoon, and dies within ten days.The nectar plant depicted here is the White Indigo Berry (Randia aculeata), a member of the Rubiaceae family. It is a pineland shrub with white, salmon-blushed fruit, and white star-shaped flowers that are exuberantly fragrant.

Artist: Sarah Saltus Siddig

E-Mail Address: sarahsaltsid@comcast.net