Nathan's Notes

September 15, 2009

Visit the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing this month, and you might be lucky enough to see the African Moon moth (Argema mimosae). A few months ago, I wrote about the Madagascar Moon moth (Argema mittrei). The African Moon moths are similar in shape but slightly smaller in size. Just like the Atlas Moth (Attacus atlas), which is also flown in the Butterfly Wing, the African Moon moth does not have functional mouth parts which leaves them unable to feed as adults. Due to this, the adult stage tends to be short, lasting less than two weeks. Of the twenty cocoons that arrived, so far only four have emerged. So visit the Butterfly Wing this month for a good chance at spotting these nocturnal beauties.