Japanese silk moth
The Japanese silk moth is a big moth with wide wings, wider than a grown-up's hand. Its caterpillars spin cocoons of white silk that is very strong and stretchy. People in Japan have been raising it for its silk for more than 1000 years.
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Fun facts
Its silk is naturally white, very strong and stretchy, but it is hard to dye in colours.
Today its silk is very rare and expensive.
People brought it to Europe to make silk, and now it lives wild in Austria, Italy and the Balkans, and is spreading north.
The moths fly in late summer, from August to September.
Most asked questions about Japanese silk moth
?What is the Japanese silk moth used for?
For its silk. Its cocoons give a white silk that is very strong and stretchy.
?What does the Japanese silk moth caterpillar eat?
Mostly oak leaves, but also beech, chestnut and other leaves.
?How big is the Japanese silk moth?
Its wings are about 11 to 15 centimetres across.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Antheraea yamamai
- Named by
- Guérin-Méneville, 1861
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Saturniidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Saturniidae
- Lives on
- Asia, Europe
- Also known as
- Japanese oak silkmoth
Where the facts come from
- Antheraea yamamai (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by unknown author. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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