Giant Peacock Moth

[Colin Key]

Found this in my garden on 15th March last year; Giant Peacock Moth (Saturnia pyri) is Europe's largest moth and one of the rarest - this one had a wingspan of 16 cm. This is not a macro shot but was taken with a 500mm lens + 1.4TC as the moth was high up in a Jacaranda tree. The damage to the right wing tip was possibly due to it trying to enter the moth trap at the Field Studies Centre next door (it is the only species which cannot get into the trap).

If you think this is a bit scary, do a "Google" and have a look at the larvae of this species.

Colin :swoon:

http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o100/Passarinhos/IMG_1789a.jpg

[AndyB]

great looking moth.

[Jacqueline Burrell]

The larvae are awesome!:eek:

[robert]

That is a very nice looking species. Does any one keep a garden moth list?

Thanks,
Rob

[PeterD]

Colin,

I have never seen such a moth in Europe. It reminds me of the giant moths I collected whilst in the Far East (Malaya/Singapore). Its a very good shot using the lens and converter you describe. Is it only resident in the Southern part of Europe?

PeterD

[Colin Key]

Peter,

Saturnia pyri is resident in Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa; there has been, I think, one record in the U.K. (Hampshire?) but it was probably an escape.

Much as I like moths (although I prefer butterflies and dragonflies), I am sorry to say that they are my worst enemy. As a keen gardener I have found that the larvae of moths do more destruction than anything else - you only have to witness the effect of the "processionary Pine Tree Caterpillar" (Taumetopea pityocampa) to realise how destructive they can be - in my local area they have decimated the Stone Pines, as they have throughout southern Europe.

Colin

[PeterD]

Peter,

Saturnia pyri is resident in Southern Europe, Middle East and North Africa; there has been, I think, one record in the U.K. (Hampshire?) but it was probably an escape.

Much as I like moths (although I prefer butterflies and dragonflies), I am sorry to say that they are my worst enemy. As a keen gardener I have found that the larvae of moths do more destruction than anything else - you only have to witness the effect of the "processionary Pine Tree Caterpillar" (Taumetopea pityocampa) to realise how destructive they can be - in my local area they have decimated the Stone Pines, as they have throughout southern Europe.

Colin

Which I guess leads to the question of why it is that they are so successful? Are the predation losses low? Perhaps predators do not like the taste of them or they are in more isolated groups and hide better than other grubs/caterpillars.

PeterD

[Colin Key]

Which I guess leads to the question of why it is that they are so successful? Are the predation losses low? Perhaps predators do not like the taste of them or they are in more isolated groups and hide better than other grubs/caterpillars.

PeterD

Peter,

I presume you are referring to the "Processionary Pine Tree Caterpillar" (Thaumetopea pityocampa), since the Saturnia pyri is quite a rarity.

These hairy caterpillars, which live communally in nests built in pine trees (especially the Stone Pine), are very abundant in the littoral zone all around the Mediterranean basin (do a "Google" for more info.).

The only known predators here in southern Portugal are the Hoopoe and the Great Spotted Cuckoo - why just those two species, I am not quite sure. The hairs on the larvae are extremely toxic and remain so for several years in the soil beneath pine trees - they can cause a very severe reaction in human skin; I know someone who lost the sight in one eye from a single hair (he and friends were camping under trees). Secondly, the stomach fluids of these larvae are intensely caustic which allows them to break down the pine needles on which they feed, and it is their caustic saliva which kills the trees (a single pine tree might contain several thousand caterpillars).

One of their defense mechanisms is the ability to "spit", literally evacuate their stomach contents, for a distance of up to three metres. This has caused many casualties amongst the unwary who "poke about" in the hanging-basket like nests which can house hundreds of individuals.

As a dog owner I am very wary of these beasts and give them a wide berth; my vet warned me years ago that if an inquisitive dog gets one of these caterpillars in its mouth it can inflame the tongue to such an extent that the dog chokes to death. And it apparently happens very often with young dogs.

Colin

[PeterD]

Thanks Colin. Quite a horror story. For anyone else interested in the Processionary Pine Tree Caterpillar, see this link http://facultyweb.cortland.edu/fitzgerald//PineProcessionary.html

PeterD