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Sri Lankan Atlas Moth
Attacus taprobanis
Attacus taprobanis is a moth of Saturniidae family. It is native to southern India and Sri Lanka, and is the only species in the genus Attacus on the Asian mainland. This species is very similar in morphology to the much more widely distributed Attacus atlas. It was once considered a subspecies of A. atlas.
From the article Attacus taprobanis on Wikipedia (CC BY-SA), quoted section by section
Description
Attacus taprobanis is typically darker than A. atlas. The hyaline spots are slightly smaller. The hyaline streak on the forewing is smaller, and often absent in males. The wingspan about 170–220 mm, is probably the second largest after A. atlas.
What it does
The larvae feed on various bushes and trees including Aglaia roxburghiana, Berberis asiatica, Berberis thunbergii, Berberis vulgaris, Cinnamomum, Cinnamomum camphora, Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Ligustrum. Adult moths do not take foods and survive on fat they have stored from their larval period, the females sitting most calm and emitting pheromones, that the active males can notice from a distance.
== References ==
Wikipedia: “Ecology”
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Where it lives
Recorded sightings
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geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
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Every page naming Attacus taprobanis in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 125061.