The Japanese silk moth is a huge East Asian moth with a wingspan of 4.3–5.9 in (110–150 mm) and a clear-centered eyespot on each wing. In Japan its bright green cocoons have long been spun into a rare, costly silk. It isn't native to the US.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Wings range from yellow to orange or reddish brown, with lines running parallel to the wing edges and a round eyespot with a see-through center on each wing.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- oak woodlands
- broadleaf forests
- Range
- Native to East Asia, including Japan and Korea. It was brought to Europe for silk and now lives wild mainly in Austria, northeastern Italy, and the Balkans, and is spreading into southern Germany. It has no known wild populations in the US.
Behavior
- Diet
- Adults have no working mouthparts and don't eat. Caterpillars feed mainly on oak leaves.
- Activity
- Adults fly in late summer, about August to September depending on location.
- Overwintering
- One generation a year; it spends the winter as an egg.
Life cycle
- Larva
- The caterpillar is green and spins a green cocoon among the leaves.
- Caterpillar food plants
- Mostly oaks. It has also been recorded on beech, sweet chestnut, hornbeam, rose, and hawthorn.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Its silk, called tensan in Japan, is strong and stretchy but hard to dye, so it was often woven together with regular silk.
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