Citheronia regalis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Regal Moth

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Saturniidae
Genus:	Citheronia
Species:	C. regalis

Binomial name

Citheronia regalis
(Fabricius, 1793)

The Regal moth (Citheronia regalis), also called the Royal Walnut Moth, is a North American moth in the saturniidae family. The caterpillars are called Hickory Horned Devils. The adult (Imago) has a wingspan of 9.5-15.5 cm.

[edit] Life cycle

Citheronia regalis is an impressive creature in all stages of development. The adult moth is the largest (in mass, not wing area) north of Mexico, as are the spectacular larva and the substantial pupa.

The life cycle of the moth is much like any other Saturniidae species, and typical of the Ceratocampidae, it burrows into the ground to pupate in an earthen chamber, rather than spinning a cocoon.

Yellowish eggs, oval and 2 mm in diameter, are laid either singly or in groups of up to four on the upper surface of the host plant leaves, favoring nut trees such as Juglans and Carya (walnut and hickories). There are regional preferences, with the utilization of sweet gum and persimmon in the south, and sumacs where the others are not available. Larvae are solitary in later stages and rarely occur in numbers large enough to cause defoliation, however an individual larva can strip several branches of their leaves during the ravenous 5th instar. The general list of recorded hosts is as follows:

Hickories: Carya glabra, Carya illinoensis, Carya ovata

Buttonbush, Cephalanthus occidentalis

Filbert, Corylus

Bush honeysuckle, Diervilla

Persimmon, Diospyros virginiana

Ash, Fraxinus

Cotton, Gossypium herbaceum

Butternut, Juglans cinerea

Black walnut, Juglans nigra

English walnut, Juglans regia

Privet, Ligustrum

among others.

larva, called Hickory Horned Devil

When the eggs hatch 7-10 days later, small yellow larvae that darken rapidly emerge. The caterpillars are solitary nighttime feeders in early stages, when they curl up in a "j" shaped pattern during the day and resemble two-toned bird droppings.

As the caterpillars age, they feed during the day. They molt 5 times. Each instar is different, but on their sixth and final instar they become a bright green color, with huge black-tipped red horns, earning them their common name "hickory horned devils". They feed heavily on their host plant and can grow up to 15cm long. Their scary appearance is purely a rouse; the spines, though prickly, do not sting, and the larva is harmless and actually one of the more easily handled of the saturniidae.

Just before pupation, the larva expels its gut and changes color from Frankenstien-green to a more fetching turquoise, the skin of the fully fed creature stretched shiny and tight. They then crawl down the host plant, where they burrow into the dirt and pupate in a well formed chamber. The pupae are dark brown/black in color, and have a relatively short cremaster. Some pupae overwinter for 2 seasons, perhaps as an adaption to variable and adverse conditions such as fires and flooding, or to maintain genetic diversity across generations.

When the moths eclose, they have to pump their wings with fluid (hemolymph) to extend them. The females emit pheromones, which the male can detect through its large, plumose antennae. Males can fly for miles in order to reach a female. After the moths mate, the female spends the majority of the remainder of her life laying eggs, while the male may mate several more times. Adults of this family of moths have vestigal mouths, meaning their mouthparts have been reduced. Because of this, they do not eat and only live for about a week as adults.

There is a single generation of regalis throughout its range, but in the deep south, moths have been recorded throughout the longer growing season. Typically, Citheronia regalis is a midsummer moth, on the wing from late June through August. There is a distinct bell curve to the emergence, with peak-weeks coinciding with the first spell of the humid summer weather which may synchronize emergences.

Citheronia regalis is considered a common species in the deep south, becoming rarer and more sporadic northward. Historically recorded throughout New England, the species suffered a decline in the Northeast during the mid 20th Century. This may be related to DDT spraying, the use of BT to combat Gypsy Moth infestation, and the deployment of the non-native Compsilura fly as a bi-control agent backfiring in producing declines of saturniid species. Excluding sparse contemporary records from New York, regalis achieves range stability in the mid Atlantic states and Southern Appalachia, beginning from southern New Jersey west throughout the Ohio Valley, the edge of the Plains states and south to East Texas.

Each year, many people discover the wonders of nature in encountering Regal Moths in all stages. From Gene Stratton Porter's early 20th Century accounts in "Moths Of The Limberlost" to internet postings of digital photos by users of websites such as BugGuide, Citheronia regalis has always had value not just for unlikely beauty, but as a teaching aide and as an indicator species of environmental health and natural diversity. For that reason alone Hickory Horned Devils, monstrous though they may be, should be conserved and not harmed in ignorance.