| Graellsia isabellae | |
|---|---|
| Graellsia isabellae, Female | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Saturniidae |
| Genus: | Graellsia Grote, 1896 |
| Species: | G. isabellae |
| Binomial name | |
| Graellsia isabellae (Graëlls, 1849) |
|
| Distribution of G. isabellae in West Europe | |
The Spanish Moon Moth, Graellsia isabellae, is a moth of the silkmoth family Saturniidae.
Contents |
The moth is native to Spain and France.
At the end of April and beginning of May the moth begins to hatch after overwintering in the cocoon. Normally moths from the same line don't copulate, so it is the condition that different lines are in a not too wide range. After copulation the female lays about 100 to 150 eggs on the favoured foodplant, pines. The larva hatch after 1 to 1.5 weeks a still begin to eat from the very hard pine needles. It takes about 1.5 month to see the last instar of the caterpillars. In the last instar the caterpillars go down from the tree to pupate under leaves on the ground. In this phase the pupae in the cocoon overwinters until next springtime.
This moth primarily eats the needles of pine trees (Pinus). It appears to have difficulty adopting non-native pine species as a host even within the Pinus genus.