Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Clickable Guide

Interactive image map to choose major taxa Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar

Upcoming Events

National Moth Week was July 19-27, and the Summer 2025 gathering in Louisiana, July 19-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2024

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Family Saturniidae - Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths

Representative Images

Automeris io 1st instar - Automeris io Buck Moth A - Hemileuca maia Mystery Gray Moth - Syssphinx hubbardi Imperial Moth 2 - Eacles imperialis Io Moth caterpillar? - Automeris io Eaclea oslari - Eacles oslari Orange-tipped Oakworm Moth - Anisota senatoria Dryocampa rubicunda - Rosy Maple Moth - Hodges#7715 - Dryocampa rubicunda
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Bombycoidea (Silkworm, Sphinx, and Royal Moths)
Family Saturniidae (Giant Silkworm and Royal Moths)

Explanation of Names

Saturniidae Boisduval 1834

Numbers

~75 spp. in our area, ~2,600 total(1)

Size

Largest moths in our area, up to 150 mm wingspan, up to ~300 mm worldwide. The smallest ones have a wingspan of a little over 25 mm.

Identification

visual guide to our spp. in (2)

Range

worldwide, most diverse in the Neotropics

Food

Larvae feed on a wide range of plants. Adults do not feed.

Life Cycle

Most overwinter as pupae and have only one generation a year. Adults short-lived.

Remarks

Some are serious defoliators. A few Asian species used for commercial silk production.

Works Cited

1.A global checklist of the Bombycoidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera)
Kitching, I., R. Rougerie, A. Zwick, C. Hamilton, R. St Laurent, S. Naumann, L. Ballesteros Mejia, A. Kawahara. 2018. Biodiversity Data Journal, 6: e22236.
2.FOR REVIEW: Giant Silkworm And Royal Moths
Contributed by Troy Bartlett on 16 February, 2004 - 12:32pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, john and jane balaban, Steve Nanz, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, Chuck Entz, Maury Heiman, ceiseman, v belov, Kyhl Austin
Last updated 20 March, 2025 - 6:03pm

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2025 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact