Coscinocera hercules

Coscinocera hercules
Mounted male
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Coscinocera
Species: C. hercules
Binomial name
Coscinocera hercules
Miskin, 1876

The Hercules Moth (Coscinocera hercules) is a moth of the Saturniidae family, endemic to New Guinea and northern Australia. It has a wingspan of 27 centimetres (11 in), making it the largest moth found in Australia, and its wings have the largest documented surface area (300 square centimeters) of any living insect.[1][2] The larvae feed on Polyscias elegans, Glochidion ferdinandi, Dysoxylum muelleri, Black Cherry, Timonius rumphii, but also eat other plants in captivity.

References

  1. ↑ Robert G. Foottit & Peter H. Adler. 2009. Insect Biodiversity: Science and Society. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-405-15142-9
  2. ↑ Rainier Flindt. 2006. Amazing Numbers in Biology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. ISBN 3-540-30146-1
Female
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