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58-453: Saturniidae , members of which are commonly named the saturniids , is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species . The family contains some of the largest species of moths in the world. Notable members include the emperor moths , royal moths, and giant silk moths (or wild silk moths). Adults are characterized by large, lobed wings , heavy bodies covered in hair-like scales , and reduced mouthparts . They lack

116-435: A frenulum , but the hindwings overlap the forewings to produce the effect of an unbroken wing surface. Saturniids are sometimes brightly colored and often have translucent eyespots or "windows" on their wings. Sexual dimorphism varies by species, but males can generally be distinguished by their larger, broader antennae . Most adults have wingspans between 1–6 in (2.5–15.2 cm), but some tropical species such as

174-967: A dark brown head, a soma covered with fine short setae , and black tentacle-like protuberances on the dorsum of the thoracic segments. The intersegmental membrane is colored with thin orange-yellow rings. The adults are large brown moths that like to rest with spread wings. They are predominantly dull colored, though some may display complex patterns. The adult wingspan is 100–120 mm. The giant silk moth occurs mainly in Central and Southern America, from tropical Mexico to southeastern Brazil. They can be found on Guazuma ulmifolia , Rollinia membranacea , and Bombacopsis quinatum plants. They are also found in Costa Rica in all wildland ecosystems from dry forest to very wet rain-forest. Giant silk moth caterpillars are noted for their gregariousness in all phases of larval development. A peculiar phenomenon

232-411: A female and mate with her; females generally will not fly until after they have mated. Since the mouthparts of adult saturniids are vestigial and digestive tracts are absent, adults subsist on stored lipids acquired during the larval stage. As such, adult behavior is devoted almost entirely to reproduction , but the end result (due to lack of feeding) is a lifespan of a week or less once emerged from

290-457: A large cluster on the underside of a leaf, whereas females from other species of Arsenurinae lay one or two eggs at a time and at different individual trees. The caterpillars of other arsenurites are cryptic and not social, and will hence benefit more from being laid in single batches. The eggs will hatch after 12 to 14 days. The giant silk moth is edible in its larval stage and is consumed by some indigenous peoples of Mexico . This practice

348-423: A particular group of caterpillars, though research has found that individual caterpillars do not exhibit strict site fidelity. An individual caterpillar may sometime shift sites when descended of the tree, depending on which pheromone trails it decides to follow on its return journey to a central site. Larvae continue this central place foraging behavior until they leave the tree as prepupates to solitarily excavate

406-485: A particularly common name is used varies; some common names have a very local application, while others are virtually universal within a particular language. Some such names even apply across ranges of languages; the word for cat , for instance, is easily recognizable in most Germanic and many Romance languages . Many vernacular names, however, are restricted to a single country and colloquial names to local districts. Some languages also have more than one common name for

464-450: A pupation chamber in the soil, where they pupate. Eclosion occurs in June, shortly after the beginning of the rainy season. The pupae eclose after spending a long dry season as solitary and dormant pupae 2–10 cm below the soil surface. In captivity, both sexes eclose about an hour after dark and mating takes place on the same night pupation occurs. The following night, females look for

522-583: A regurgitation defense. Most are solitary feeders, but some are gregarious . The Hemileucinae are gregarious when young and have stinging hairs, and those of Lonomia contain a poison that may kill a human. Arsenura armida is another well-known example and is infamous for its large conspicuous masses during the day. Their coloration is not cryptic, instead exhibiting aposematism. The other caterpillars in this size range are almost universally Sphingidae , which are seldom hairy and tend to have diagonal stripes on their sides. Many Sphingidae caterpillars bear

580-444: A role in the grouping behavior and aposematism of the giant silk moth. It is known that the late instar larvae are lethally poisonous to predators such as trogon nestlings, among others, when swallowed. The bright colors, augmented by the large number of caterpillars in a larval mass, are a visible deterrent to any would-be predators. The larvae hatch from large egg masses laid on the underside of leaves. Unlike their close relatives,

638-427: A single curved horn on their hind end. These are actually not dangerous, but large, hairy caterpillars should generally not be touched except by experts. Most saturniid larvae feed on the foliage of trees and shrubs. A few, particularly Hemileucinae such as Automeris louisiana , A. patagonensis , and Hemileuca oliviae , feed on grasses. They moult at regular intervals, usually four to six times before entering

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696-560: A suitable food plant like Guazuma ulmifolia , where they will lay their entire egg load in one mass on the underside of a leaf. Occasionally females will split the clutch into two roughly equal-sized masses, both of which may be laid on the same night or over two nights. The average egg mass contains about 300 to 400 eggs. Females live for 6 to 8 days after eclosion, just like other related saturniids . The giant silk moth differs drastically from its close relatives in terms of ovipositioning behavior. Female moths lay all of their eggs in

754-535: A vernacular name describes one used in a lab, trade or industry that does not unambiguously describe a single chemical, such as copper sulfate , which may refer to either copper(I) sulfate or copper(II) sulfate. Sometimes common names are created by authorities on one particular subject, in an attempt to make it possible for members of the general public (including such interested parties as fishermen, farmers, etc.) to be able to refer to one particular species of organism without needing to be able to memorise or pronounce

812-490: Is a global system that attempts to denote particular organisms or taxa uniquely and definitively , on the assumption that such organisms or taxa are well-defined and generally also have well-defined interrelationships; accordingly the ICZN has formal rules for biological nomenclature and convenes periodic international meetings to further that purpose. The form of scientific names for organisms, called binomial nomenclature ,

870-521: Is called entomophagy . The Ixcohuapa community of the Zongolica area of Veracruz , Mexico are known to gather and consume the early instar larvae. Larvae can be cooked and then eaten as an alternative source of protein. People are also known to preserve the larvae in a vinegar solution that gives them the taste of herring. Larvae are usually sold in the streets either in ambulant markets or by independent street vendors. There exist no laws to regulate

928-461: Is in these remarks from a book on marine fish: In scientific binomial nomenclature, names commonly are derived from classical or modern Latin or Greek or Latinised forms of vernacular words or coinages; such names generally are difficult for laymen to learn, remember, and pronounce and so, in such books as field guides, biologists commonly publish lists of coined common names. Many examples of such common names simply are attempts to translate

986-407: Is shaped by the joint effects of phylogenetic history, larval nutritional ecology, size or appearance, and defensive ecology. Such behavior shifts can be found in other species. For instance, the larvae of many swallowtails begin as cryptic mimics of bird droppings but then switch to aposematism or aggressive mimicry in later instars. Predation and/or parasitism is hypothesized to have played

1044-459: Is superficially similar to the noun-adjective form of vernacular names or common names which were used by non-modern cultures. A collective name such as owl was made more precise by the addition of an adjective such as screech . Linnaeus himself published a flora of his homeland Sweden, Flora Svecica (1745), and in this, he recorded the Swedish common names, region by region, as well as

1102-659: Is the Cape dikkop (or "gewone dikkop", not to mention the presumably much older Zulu name "umBangaqhwa"); Burhinus vermiculatus is the "water dikkop". The thick joints in question are not even, in fact, the birds' knees, but the intertarsal joints —in lay terms the ankles. Furthermore, not all species in the genus have "thick knees", so the thickness of the "knees" of some species is not of clearly descriptive significance. The family Burhinidae has members that have various common names even in English, including " stone curlews ", so

1160-463: Is the case with say, ginkgo , okapi , and ratel . Folk taxonomy , which is a classification of objects using common names, has no formal rules and need not be consistent or logical in its assignment of names, so that say, not all flies are called flies (for example Braulidae , the so-called "bee lice") and not every animal called a fly is indeed a fly (such as dragonflies and mayflies ). In contrast, scientific or biological nomenclature

1218-506: Is the shift in different forms of social behavior from early to late instars . In early instars, the larvae aggregate at all times in different patches and engage in nomadic foraging. As they age, these moths display a shift to a central foraging location so that larvae feed solitarily at night but, when done feeding, ascend to the canopy at roughly the same time to rest diurnally . Hypotheses have been made to try and explain this shift in behavior. In general, caterpillar feeding behavior

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1276-552: The emperor moth , occurs in the British Isles , and 68 described species live in North America, 42 of which reside north of Mexico and Southern California . Some saturniids are strictly univoltine , producing only one generation a year, whereas others are multivoltine, producing more than one brood a year. Spring and summer broods eclose in a matter of weeks; autumn broods enter a state known as diapause and emerge

1334-681: The Atlas moth ( Attacus atlas ) may have wingspans up to 12 in (30 cm). Together with certain Noctuidae , Saturniidae contains the largest Lepidoptera and some of the largest extant insects . The majority of saturniid species occur in wooded tropical or subtropical regions, with the greatest diversity in the New World tropics and Mexico , though they are found all over the world. About 12 described species live in Europe, one of which,

1392-683: The Hebrew Language publish from time to time short dictionaries of common name in Hebrew for species that occur in Israel or surrounding countries e.g. for Reptilia in 1938, Osteichthyes in 2012, and Odonata in 2015. Arsenura armida Arsenura armida , the giant silk moth , is a moth of the family Saturniidae . It is found mainly in South and Central America, from Mexico to Bolivia , and Ecuador to south-eastern Brazil . It

1450-710: The SSAR switched to an online version with a searchable database. Standardized names for the amphibians and reptiles of Mexico in Spanish and English were first published in 1994, with a revised and updated list published in 2008. A set of guidelines for the creation of English names for birds was published in The Auk in 1978. It gave rise to Birds of the World: Recommended English Names and its Spanish and French companions. The Academy of

1508-639: The Saturniidae are most diverse in the Neotropics . Also, their most ancient subfamilies occur only in the Americas. Only the very "modern" Saturniidae are widely distributed across most parts of the world. Thus, it is quite safe to assume – even in the absence of a comprehensive fossil record – that the first Saturniidae originated in the Neotropical region. Note that at least two of

1566-534: The Secretariat for the AFNC. SSA is an accredited Standards Australia (Australia's peak non-government standards development organisation) Standards Development The Entomological Society of America maintains a database of official common names of insects, and proposals for new entries must be submitted and reviewed by a formal committee before being added to the listing. Efforts to standardize English names for

1624-505: The amphibians and reptiles of North America (north of Mexico) began in the mid-1950s. The dynamic nature of taxonomy necessitates periodical updates and changes in the nomenclature of both scientific and common names. The Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (SSAR) published an updated list in 1978, largely following the previous established examples, and subsequently published eight revised editions ending in 2017. More recently

1682-515: The author introduced into it so many new English names, that are to be found in no dictionary, and that do not preclude the necessity of learning with what Latin names they are synonymous. A tolerable idea may be given of the danger of too great a multiplicity of vulgar names, by imagining what geography would be, or, for instance, the Post-office administration, supposing every town had a totally different name in every language. Various bodies and

1740-493: The authors of many technical and semi-technical books do not simply adapt existing common names for various organisms; they try to coin (and put into common use) comprehensive, useful, authoritative, and standardised lists of new names. The purpose typically is: Other attempts to reconcile differences between widely separated regions, traditions, and languages, by arbitrarily imposing nomenclature, often reflect narrow perspectives and have unfortunate outcomes. For example, members of

1798-455: The cabbage tree emperor moth ( Bunaea alcinoe ), Gynanisa maia , Imbrasia epimethea , Imbrasia oyemensis , Melanocera menippe , Microgone cana , Urota sinope and the pallid emperor moth ( Cirina forda ). Some species of Saturniidae such as the mopane worm ( Gonimbrasia belina ) are used as a food source. Most Saturniidae are harmless animals at least as adults, and in many cases at all stages of their lives. Thus, some of

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1856-405: The canopy. At dawn, they return to the original central place using pheromone trails. To date, giant silk moth larvae are one of the few social Lepidoptera known where silk is not produced at all when foraging. The trails they follow are all pheromone based. The pheromones are deposited by caterpillars as they move to distant feed sites. These trails facilitate the re-aggregation of the group at

1914-408: The choice of the name "thick-knees" is not easy to defend but is a clear illustration of the hazards of the facile coinage of terminology. For collective nouns for various subjects, see a list of collective nouns (e.g. a flock of sheep, pack of wolves). Some organizations have created official lists of common names, or guidelines for creating common names, hoping to standardize

1972-427: The day, the larvae rest in large conspicuous masses on the trunks of trees, and descend at night to feed. When returning at dawn, they follow a silk-less pheromone trail to their original central place location. This social behavior is remarkable for the larvae; other members of the genus live more solitary lives. The larvae feed on Guazuma ulmifolia , Rollinia membranacea and Bombacopsis quinatum . After

2030-500: The final instar), stout, and cylindrical. Most have tubercules that are often also spiny or hairy. Many are cryptic in coloration, with countershading or disruptive coloration to reduce detection, but some are more colorful. Some have urticating hairs . A few species have been noted to produce clicking sounds with the larval mandibles when disturbed. Examples: luna moth ( Actias luna ) and Polyphemus moth ( Antheraea polyphemus ). The clicks may serve as aposematic warning signals to

2088-400: The first-instar larvae are neither cryptic nor solitary. They hatch in groups, and feed together, side-by-side on leaves. They employ a nomadic foraging technique, moving together when resources are exhausted. During the nomadic foraging phase, the caterpillars utilize a pheromone trail to promote group cohesion, as well as mark trails between feeding sites. In the fourth instar and onwards,

2146-516: The following spring. How the pupae know when to eclose early or hibernate is not yet fully understood, though research suggests day length during the fifth larval instar plays a major role, as well as cooling temperatures. Longer days may prompt pupae to develop early, while shorter days result in pupal diapause. The number of broods is flexible, and a single female may produce both fast-developing and slow-developing individuals, or they may produce different numbers of broods in different years or parts of

2204-522: The genus Burhinus occur in Australia, Southern Africa, Eurasia, and South America. A recent trend in field manuals and bird lists is to use the name " thick-knee " for members of the genus. This, in spite of the fact that the majority of the species occur in non-English-speaking regions and have various common names, not always English. For example, "Dikkop" is the centuries-old South African vernacular name for their two local species: Burhinus capensis

2262-407: The larva's fourth instar , it will descend from the larval mass, excavate a small chamber in the soil and pupate. Then, shortly after the rainy season in June, the pupa will eclose (emerge). The adult form of the species are large brown moths which possess a wingspan of 100–120 mm. The adults will mate the same night they emerge, and afterwards the females will lay their eggs in large batches on

2320-711: The modern (now binding) International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants contains the following: Art. 68. Every friend of science ought to be opposed to the introduction into a modern language of names of plants that are not already there unless they are derived from a Latin botanical name that has undergone but a slight alteration. ... ought the fabrication of names termed vulgar names, totally different from Latin ones, to be proscribed. The public to whom they are addressed derives no advantage from them because they are novelties. Lindley's work, The Vegetable Kingdom, would have been better relished in England had not

2378-434: The more spectacular species – in particular Antheraea – can be raised by children or school classes as educational pets. The soft, silken cocoons make an interesting keepsake for pupils. Some, including the genus Automeris , have urticating spines that sting. Caterpillars of the genus Lonomia produce a deadly toxin injected into the victim when it is touched. In terms of absolute numbers of species,

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2436-428: The new feeding location and help prevent separation. At dawn, caterpillars will follow a pheromone trail to the original central place site to form bivouacs . Studies have shown that larval trail following can be elicited by wiping cuticular material collected from the venter and dorsum of the abdomen of giant silk moth caterpillars onto the host plant. Crude extracts of homogenated somatic tissue can also elicit

2494-487: The pandora pinemoth ( Coloradia pandora ) on pines and Hemileuca oliviae on range grasses . Other species are of major commercial importance in tussah and wild silk production. These notably include the Chinese tussah moth ( Antheraea pernyi ), its hybridogenic descendant Antheraea × proylei , and the ailanthus silkmoth ( Samia cynthia ). Mopane worm ( Gonimbrasia belina ), Gonimbrasia zambesina ,

2552-443: The pheromone trail is mainly used as a marker to convey information for relocation to the central place site. By the fourth instar the larvae begin to rest diurnally in large conspicuous masses on the lower trunk of larger branches. They adopt a new feeding behavior, called central place foraging. In this behavior, caterpillars rest during the day in large visible groups, then mobilize at dusk to forage nocturnally as solitary larvae in

2610-433: The pupa. One specific species in the family Saturniidae with a special mating pattern is Callosamia promethea (promethea silkmoth). Females will mate with multiple males and males will mate with multiple females ( polygynandry ). Females that mate with more than one male will produce 10% more eggs. A few species are important defoliator pests , including the orange-striped oakworm moth ( Anisota senatoria ) on oaks ,

2668-599: The pupal stage. Prior to pupation, a wandering stage occurs, and the caterpillar may change color, becoming more cryptic just before this stage. Most larvae spin a silken cocoon in the leaves of a preferred host plant or in leaf litter on the ground, or crevices in rocks and logs. While only moderately close relatives to the silkworm ( Bombyx mori ) among the Lepidoptera, the cocoons of larger saturniids can be gathered and used to make silk fabric. However, larvae of some species – typically Ceratocampinae , like

2726-572: The range. In some species, the spring and summer broods look different from each other; for example, the two Saturniinae species Actias luna (the luna moth) and Callosamia securifera both have certain genes which may or may not be activated depending upon differences in environmental conditions. Depending on the moth, a single female may lay up to 200 eggs on a chosen host plant. Others are laid singly or in small groups. They are round, slightly flattened, smooth, and translucent or whitish. Saturniid caterpillars are large (50 to 100 mm in

2784-580: The regal moth ( Citheronia regalis ) and the imperial moth ( Eacles imperialis ), burrow and pupate in a small chamber beneath the soil. This is common in the Ceratocampinae and Hemileucinae. Unlike most silk moths, those that pupate underground do not use much silk in the construction. Once enclosed in the cocoon, the caterpillar sheds the larval skin and becomes a pupa, and the pupa undergoes metamorphosis for about 14 days, at which point it either emerges or goes into diapause. During metamorphosis,

2842-459: The respiratory system will stay intact, the digestive system will dissolve, and reproductive organs will take form. Adult females emerge with a complete set of mature ova and "call" males by emitting pheromones (specific "calling" times vary by species). Males can detect these chemical signals up to a mile away with help from sensitive receptors located on the tips of their feather-like antennae . The males fly several miles in one night to locate

2900-488: The same animal. For example, in Irish, there are many terms that are considered outdated but still well-known for their somewhat humorous and poetic descriptions of animals. w/ literal translations of the poetic terms Common names are used in the writings of both professionals and laymen . Lay people sometimes object to the use of scientific names over common names, but the use of scientific names can be defended, as it

2958-418: The same response. The trail marker is hypothesized to be a component of the cuticle that is passively deposited from the posterior-ventral region of the abdomen as larvae move over the host plant. Tree architecture also plays a role in re-aggregation. Trees with a single trunk funnel aggregate returning caterpillars more quickly and more densely than those with multiple trunks. The same bivouac can be used by

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3016-402: The scientific name into English or some other vernacular. Such translation may be confusing in itself, or confusingly inaccurate, for example, gratiosus does not mean "gracile" and gracilis does not mean "graceful". The practice of coining common names has long been discouraged; de Candolle's Laws of Botanical Nomenclature , 1868, the non-binding recommendations that form the basis of

3074-555: The scientific name. Creating an "official" list of common names can also be an attempt to standardize the use of common names, which can sometimes vary a great deal between one part of a country and another, as well as between one country and another country, even where the same language is spoken in both places. A common name intrinsically plays a part in a classification of objects, typically an incomplete and informal classification, in which some names are degenerate examples in that they are unique and lack reference to any other name, as

3132-579: The scientific names. The Swedish common names were all binomials (e.g. plant no. 84 Råg-losta and plant no. 85 Ren-losta); the vernacular binomial system thus preceded his scientific binomial system. Linnaean authority William T. Stearn said: By the introduction of his binomial system of nomenclature, Linnaeus gave plants and animals an essentially Latin nomenclature like vernacular nomenclature in style but linked to published, and hence relatively stable and verifiable, scientific concepts and thus suitable for international use. The geographic range over which

3190-483: The subfamilies included below are commonly treated as separate families ( Oxyteninae and Cercophaninae ). The following list arranges the subfamilies in the presumed phylogenetic sequence, from the most ancient to the most advanced. Common name In chemistry , IUPAC defines a common name as one that, although it unambiguously defines a chemical, does not follow the current systematic naming convention, such as acetone , systematically 2-propanone , while

3248-591: The underside tree leaves. To the indigenous people of the Zongolica area of Veracruz , the larvae are also a form of sustenance; they are gathered and eaten after being cooked. Arsenura armida is also known as the giant silk moth. It belongs to the subfamily Arsenurinae , consisting of approximately 57 species of Neotropical saturniids found from tropical Mexico to northern Argentina . The young larvae exhibit aposematism through their bright yellow and black-ringed bodies and red heads. The later instars are darker and "duskier" than early instars. They possess

3306-832: The use of common names. For example, the Australian Fish Names List or AFNS was compiled through a process involving work by taxonomic and seafood industry experts, drafted using the CAAB (Codes for Australian Aquatic Biota) taxon management system of the CSIRO , and including input through public and industry consultations by the Australian Fish Names Committee (AFNC). The AFNS has been an official Australian Standard since July 2007 and has existed in draft form (The Australian Fish Names List) since 2001. Seafood Services Australia (SSA) serve as

3364-399: Was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1779. It is the only known Neotropical arsenurinae to exhibit a combination of strong aposematism , gregariousness , and trail-following behavior in its larval stage. The larvae are brightly colored, with bright black and yellow bands, which signal their unpleasant taste to birds. The larvae are also fatally poisonous to some species of birds. During

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