Saturniid

While mushroom hunting around Wooster, a few of us discovered what looked like a perfectly cylindrical dead leaf. But, a leaf it was not! As soon as I cut into the leafy shell, it literally came to life in a series of raspy gyrations that caused me to drop it and nearly lose it again in the leaf litter. Watch this video I took in the lab to see what I mean. If you look closely at the photos below, you can see eyes developing inside the dark brown thing in the middle.

In fact, it is the pupa of a giant silk moth, in the Saturniidae family. These are the largest moths in North America. Many Saturniids make drab cocoons and attach them to twigs to overwinter. But, this pupal casing was found in the leaf litter. Either way, the effect is the same, they look like un-interesting dead leaves. I've set up a hatching chamber in the lab, and we will keep our eyes on it to see if it emerges. We do not know what species it will be, but we do expect something large and extraordinary. Unlike this cocoon, the adults of this family are very showy! So showy that many confuse them with butterflies. The difference is in the antennae and resting wing posture. These moths have feathered antennae, and they rest with their wings horizontally over their backs. Butterflies have clubbed antennae and rest with the wings held vertically over their backs.

Here are pictures of the most recognizable species in this family, the Luna Moth (Actias luna) on top and the Cecropia Moth (Hyalophora cecropia) on bottom.