Sent when ready in May or June. Promethea is a fascinating North American silk moth with very distinct male and female adults. This sexual dimorphism in the final stage results in a male that can be likened to a camberwell beauty butterfly in terms of its colouring and a female that is closer in appearance to its close relative, the tulip tree moth.
Larvae are gregarious in their early instars, lining up at the edge of the leaf and feeding in rotation to ensure an even growth amongst the group. By the third instar they are adorned with two pairs of protruding yellow tubercles at the front and a single protruding yellow tubercle at the back. The intermediary, flatter tubercles can be all black, or all yellow. At the very end of the third instar, it is possible to see the newly developed orange tubercles underneath the old skin, as it prepares to moult. During the fourth and fifth instars, the protruding tubercles at the front have turned a vivd red (tubercles are orange for a brief period at the beginning of the fourth instar) and the white ground colour has been replaced with a pale blue hue. Promethea is a fascinating species with a totally absorbing larval stage
Larval foodplants: birch (betulae), ash (fraxinus), lilac (syringia), sweet gum (liquidamber), tulip tree (liriodendron).
Rearing: plastic boxes, ventilated cages and sleeves in warmer, dryer climates.
Photographs: ova pair x 20 magnification; 1st instar larvae x 20 magnification; 2nd instar larvae group; 3rd instar larvae; 4th instar larvae, crawling; 4th instar larvae, side view; 5th instar larvae pair on lilac; 5th instar larvae on lilac.
