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| Hercules Moth, the Biggest Moth in the Smallest Continent |
Hercules Moth, the Biggest Moth in the Smallest Continent. Hercules is the name of an ancient Roman mythological figure who is told as the son of the god Jupiter or Zeus in Greek mythology and a human woman named Alcmene.
In the story, Hercules is told as a brave figure who loves adventure. Therefore, the name Hercules is now often used to describe something that has a strong or majestic impression.
Hercules Moth, the Biggest Moth in the Smallest Continent
Hercules moth or in scientific language Coscinocera hercules is an insect that got this name because this moth is one of the largest moth species in the world.
How not, Hercules moth has an average wingspan of 27 cm. The largest Hercules moth has a wingspan of up to 36 cm, but this phenomenon is classified as very rare.
The Hercules moth also has a wing surface area of up to 300 cm square. The size of its wings then makes the Hercules moth one of the insects with the largest wing surface area in the world. Although large, the Hercules moth is completely harmless to humans.
The Hercules moth also never eats because it has no mouth. Instead, they rely on the food reserves they collect in the larval stage. Adult Hercules moths do not need food as their only job is to mate and reproduce.
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| Hercules Moth, the Biggest Moth in the Smallest Continent |
So that food reserves are not wasted, Hercules moths fly only as needed. Hercules moth is found only in Australia and Papua Island. This insect was first identified in 1876 by William Henry Miskin, a British-born Australian scientist.
The favorite habitat of the Hercules moth is a forest overgrown with bloody heart plants or in the scientific language Homalanthus novoguineensis
Kidney beans or in scientific language Dysoxylum mollissimum, cheese trees or in the scientific language Glochidion ferdinandi. This is because Hercules moth larvae live on the leaves of the plant.
The Hercules moth has an appearance similar to the Atlas moth because it is both large and has wings with similar motifs.
Despite their appearance, these two moths could still be distinguished by looking at their wings. If the Hercules moth appears to have a long tail on its hind wings, the Atlas moth does not have a tail or flags on its hind wings.
Giant Flying Long Tailed Moth
Male and female Hercules moths both have tails on their wings, but differ in size. The male moth has a tail that is longer and narrower than the female moth.
If you look at the experiments scientists have carried out on the luna moth, a type of moth from the Actias luna species that also has a long tail on its wings, the tail of the wing seems to serve to outwit bats, moths. main enemy animal.
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| Hercules Moth, the Biggest Moth in the Smallest Continent |
Bats usually forage at night. Since the sense of sight is almost useless in the pitch darkness at night, the bat outsmarts it by flying while emitting an ultrasonic sound from its mouth.
When the sound hits the object and is reflected back towards the bat, the bat can know the position of the prey and objects around it. However, if the sound of the bat hits the moth's wing tail, the bat will think that the tail is the moth's body and then try to bite it.
Once the moth realizes that the bat is attacking its tail, the moth will immediately fly to safety. The tail on the wing can be damaged or even broken, but the important thing is that the owner of the tail is not eaten by the bats.
Biggest Moth Videos
Male moths are thought to have longer tails than female moths because male moths fly more often than female moths, so they have a greater chance of encountering bats.
As previously mentioned in the previous paragraph, male and female Hercules moths can be distinguished by looking at the shape of the tail of their wings. Male and female moths can also be distinguished by looking at the antennae on their heads.
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| Hercules Moth, the Biggest Moth in the Smallest Continent |
If male moths have thick antennae like bird feathers, then female moths have thin, thread-like antennae. The differences themselves can exist because males need a keen sense of smell to find females.
When the mating season arrives, the female will perch on the plant while releasing pheromones, a type of odorous substance. The scent of this pheromone cannot be smelled by humans, but can be smelled by other Hercules moths up to a distance of two kilometers.
After the male detects the smell of the pheromone released by the female, the male will immediately fly to the source of smell so he can find the female.
When the male has arrived at the location of the female, the two will mate. The female moth will then lay eggs on the stem of the plant. The number of eggs issued by the female can reach 300 eggs.
After about two weeks, the eggs will hatch into larvae, aka caterpillars. The newly hatched caterpillars appear to have a bright green body and a black head. When it grows large enough, the Hercules moth caterpillar appears to have yellow spikes all over its body.
The job of the caterpillar is to eat as much as possible so that the adult phase has enough energy to fly and mate. The Hercules moth caterpillar is a herbivorous animal whose main food is leaves.
The Hercules moth caterpillar can grow to a length of 12 cm and weigh 29 grams. After 3 months of hatching from the egg, the caterpillar will turn into a cocoon.
The time spent by the
Hercules moth in its pupal phase ranges from a few months to two years. When the pupal phase is complete, the adult Hercules moth will emerge from it. Unlike its larval and pupal phases, adult Hercules moths are not long-lived animals and only have a maximum lifespan of two weeks.
Within that short span of time, the adult Hercules moth must find a mating partner to continue its lineage.
By: Ochie
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