“Life’s picture is constantly undergoing change.
The spirit beholds a new world every moment.“
Rumi
In one of life’s wonderful serendipitous moments, I was lucky to have been at the right place and the right time in two separate instances to witness part of the life cycle of a cecropia silkmoth. On one of my visits to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center (Austin, Texas), I made a quick stop at the insectaria on my way to photograph some flowers and other insects around the garden. Luck would have it that I would return nine months later on the day the Center was releasing the same moths I had seen as a caterpillar and cocoon. I had not planned it because I did not know back then the time span between the caterpillar stage and a full live moth.
In a nutshell and simplified manner, a female moth lays a cluster of 2-6 eggs on the leaves of a host plant. This generally happens in June or July. The eggs hatch in about 10-14 days.
The larva, or caterpillar, is the largest stage of the moth’s life. It goes through five instars, or growth stages, during which it molts its skin. The larva feeds voraciously on the leaves of the host plant, and it can grow to be up to 5 inches long. This normally happens in July or August.
When I saw this caterpillar, my eyes began to examine the intricate details it exhibited. Those curves and the pointed blue and yellow needles gave the caterpillar a look of something otherworldly.
Then, it comes to the pupa stage. The pupa is the stage in which the moth undergoes metamorphosis. The larva spins a silk cocoon, inside of which it transforms into an adult moth. The pupa stage lasts about 10-14 weeks. The caterpillar spends about 6-8 weeks in the cocoon. At the end of that period, in the spring, the adult moth appears.
A variety of trees and shrubs can serve as places to which the cocoon attaches itself. Some of those plants include box elder, sugar maple, wild cherries and plums, apples, alder and birch, dogwoods, and willows.
Sometimes it is hard to find the cocoon underneath all the leaves that surround it. Those leaves help protect the cocoon against predators Some common predators are rodents, birds, and bats. Luckily, for this particular batch, they are safe inside the Center’s insectaria.
Finally, sometime in the spring, a large and beautiful moth emerges with a wingspan of up to 5 inches. The adult moth does not eat, and it only lives for about a week. Its only function is to mate and reproduce. The females lay their eggs, and the cycle begins again. The entire life cycle of a cecropia silkmoth takes about nine months to a year. Take a look at the details of the moth. Their bodies are reddish with black to brown wings surrounded by bands of white, red, and tan. The cecropia silkmoth is the largest moth found in North America. One interesting fact about the mating process is the caution a male cecropia moth must exert when searching for its female. According to the National Wildlife Federation, “Bolas spiders are able to mimic the pheromones produced by insects like the cecropia moth. Male moths then follow the scent of the pheromones and end up becoming the spider’s next meal.”
Cecropia silkmoths are an important part of the ecosystem. They help to control the populations of their host plants, and they provide food for a variety of animals. The photos of the caterpillar and cocoon were made in June, and the live moth was photographed the following March. If the photos appear to have some grain as you look at them, it was because I photographed these stages through a window and screen.
This is my entry to this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge. In her blog, Patti challenged us to tell a story in one to five photos only.
This post is a summary of two separate posts containing additional photos and stories. One post was from June 27, 2021, and the other from April 14, 2022. I used unpublished photos for this post and also wrote additional information.
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Amy
Fabulous! Precious captures!
Egídio Leitão
Thanks, Amy. I appreciated your feedback.
prmckee1
Awesome story in 3 photos
Egídio Leitão
Thank you for your feedback.
margaret21
What a wonderful moth! This is such an interesting post – thanks.
Egídio Leitão
Thanks for your feedback, Margaret. I appreciated that, and I’m glad you liked the post.
Wind Kisses
What a great idea for the challenge, with beautiful images and the story of life. And every photo is a story in itself. And neat that you were able to see that life cycle, full circle, months later. Brilliant color in the caterpillar stage! Always a pleasure to see you here, Egidio.
Tina Schell
A truly gorgeous specimen Egidio, wonderfully captured. How fun that you saw the before and after! A perfect story for the week!
Egídio Leitão
Thank you for your enthusiast feedback. Your comments always provide valuable feedback, Donna. I appreciate that.
Egídio Leitão
Tina, it was really a lucky encounter that I happened to be at the Wildflower Center the day they were going to release the moth. Thank you for the feedback, as always.
sustainabilitea
What a beautiful story you presented, Egidio! I did something a bit similar but with five photos. That last shot of the butterfly is so beautiful.
janet
Egídio Leitão
Janet, thank you for your compliment and kind words.
susurrus
What a beautiful creature! Nature tells all the best stories. I love the feelers and how you’ve highlighted the orange.
Egídio Leitão
Thank you for your kind words.
Leya
Absolutely beautiful! What an amazingly beautiful creature – and so well photographed. A great story.
Egídio Leitão
Ann-Christine, thank you kindly for your compliment and comment.