Tasar Silk-Moth (Antheraea mylitta) | EGGS

Care guides for Antheraea can be found here.

This is a large, colourful silk-moth native to regions of India where it is farmed for silk. Its wingspan can range up to 17cm, with females having particularly bright and well-marked wings. Males are smaller with narrower windows in the wings. Both sexes can vary dramatically in colour, occurring in shades of yellow, orange, brown, grey, or a mixture of these. They are short-lived, being Silk-moths and therefore having no functional mouthparts, living for around a week. Breeding occurs easily and each female can produce upwards of 200 eggs.

Rearing has only been attempted a few times outside of its natural range, with the best host plants reported to be Eucalyptus and Sweet Gum (Liquidambar). Others that are often accepted by other Antheraea species are not by this species, although it probably uses multiple plants in nature. Caterpillars grow to be very large, we have found particularly favourable results using Eucalyptus, which is particularly useful in winter as an evergreen. The cocoons typically emerge within a month, but are capable of dormancy when conditions are unfavourable. Last available around a decade ago, this beautiful moth species comes highly recommended! 

Difficulty - Easy (2/10)