A Tale of the Cecropia Moths

 (Please click on the photos to see larger images)

On April 9th of this year, I found a large cocoon on a branch within a local woodland.  After I identified it as that of the Cecropia Moth (the largest moth in North America), I started checking on it every day that I walked in the area.  Day after day, through some nasty storms, I worried if it would survive.

I photographed it each time to see if I could detect any changes (that might indicate if it was actually alive) but it always seemed the same.  After reading that the moth normally emerges at the end of May / beginning of June, I was full of anticipation.

On June 3rd I checked it as usual - no detectable change.  On June 4th I walked over to the cocoon and again it looked the same however something caught my eye.  Hanging on the same branch but several inches higher, was a gorgeous, "brand new", Cecropia moth!  I was thrilled!

Moth at upper left, cocoon at lower right.

Another view of the moth.

Having read a great article on Cecropia moths (click here) I learned that she (I'll explain how I knew she was female later on) would be emitting pheromones during the night to hopefully reach a male and let him know she was present. Hoping that a male would come, I came back the next morning just after 7 am and there they were together!

The male is on the left and the female on the right.

They remained locked together for the rest of the day!  

After mating, the female's main focus is to lay around a hundred eggs (notice her large abdomen which is filled with eggs) to start the whole life-cycle over again.  I trust she has done this by the time of this writing and I look forward to searching for new cocoons in the months to come.

Postscript:  How to identify male versus female Cecropia moths:

Aside from the smaller size of the male (both wingspan and abdomen width), the male's antennae are wider and feathery (to help him detect her pheromones) compared to the female's more narrow antennae. See close-ups below.

Male

Female