Saturniidae

Saturniidae
Male small emperor moth, Saturnia pavonia (Saturniinae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Superfamily: Bombycoidea
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamilies
"Wild silk moths" redirects here. For the species with that name, see Bombyx mandarina.

Saturniidae, members of which are commonly named the saturniids, is a family of Lepidoptera with an estimated 2,300 described species.[1] 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 a frenulum, but the hindwings overlap the forewings to produce the effect of an unbroken wing surface.[2] 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 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.

  1. ^ Van Nieukerken, Erik J.; Kaila, Lauri; Kitching, Ian J.; Kristensen, Niels P.; Lees, David C.; Minet, JoëL; Mitter, Charles; Mutanen, Marko; Regier, Jerome C.; Simonsen, Thomas J.; Wahlberg, Niklas; Yen, Shen-Horn; Zahiri, Reza; Adamski, David; Baixeras, Joaquin; et al. (2011-12-23). "Order Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness". Zootaxa. 3148 (1): 212–221. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3148.1.41. ISSN 1175-5334.
  2. ^ Tuskes, Paul M.; Tuttle, James P.; Collins, Michael M. (1996). The wild silk moths of North America: a natural history of the Saturniidae of the United States and Canada. The Cornell series in arthropod biology. Ithaca, N.Y: Comstock Pub. Associates. pp. 182–184. ISBN 978-0-8014-3130-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)