Wildlife Watching Wednesday: Polyphemus Moths Have Big Eyes

By: Tom Berg

Butterflies are popular visitors to summertime flower gardens, but moths visit, too. One of the largest and most beautiful moths in the United States is the very impressive Polyphemus moth. These large silk moths are seldom seen by most people because they typically fly only at night. Even so, Polyphemus moths are still fairly common.

They are usually seen shortly after they emerge from their cocoon and are very docile while resting and drying their wings. There is a large eyespot on each of their hind wings, and this is why they are named after the cyclops Polyphemus from Greek mythology. Polyphemus had just one large eye right in the middle of his forehead. It is thought the large eyespots on this moth help scare away predators like hungry birds.

Polyphemus moths are indeed large, often having a wingspan of up to six inches. They are a brownish-tan color, with traces of pink and yellow. Their bodies are thick and covered with furry-looking tan-colored hair.  The eyespots on their hind wings are yellow and black with light blue shading, surrounded by a jet-black outline. Newly emerged adult moths are stunningly beautiful.

Males and females are easy to tell apart by their antennae. Males (pictured here) have distinctive fern-like antennae that are large and very bushy. Female Polyphemus moths have much smaller, thinner antennae.  Females emit pheromones to attract males for mating, and the males use their large antennae to detect the pheromones from afar and find the females.

Adult Polyphemus moths do not eat; once they find a mate and reproduce, their short life is over. After the eggs hatch, the tiny caterpillars eat almost nonstop during the short summer. By autumn, they have grown to full size and create a silk cocoon on a tree branch where they hibernate for the winter. In the spring, they emerge from the cocoon and the cycle repeats itself.

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