The Polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) is the most widely distributed of the giant silk moths in North America ... Their only point in life from here on out is to mate and lay eggs.

June means warm nights, summer solstice, fireflies … and the seldom-seen giant silk moths ... adults around the end of July to begin the life cycle again, with those second brood caterpillars ...

But Father Das said many of them told him that they realized their greed was destroying the natural life cycle of silk moths. Beginning life as an egg, one of these insects goes through the larval ...

They can see live adult moths, examine silkworm cocoons, learn about the insect's life cycle from knowledgeable docents, and watch a video on the silk-making process. Legend has it that silk was ...

an adult moth would ruin the silk, so just enough adult moths were allowed to fully mature to maintain the reproduction cycle.) The cocoons were then put in hot water to facilitate the difficult ...

It turns out the moth is a giant silk moth, or a Cecropia moth, which is about 15 cm wide and furry. Even if it wanted to bite Gear, it couldn't -- the moth doesn't have a functional mouth.

As moths and butterflies do, the promethea silk moth starts its life as a caterpillar. After feeding on the leaves of its host plants and breaking away from the group of feeding caterpillars ...

When the time comes, the now-moth secretes a fluid that burns a hole through the strands of its cocoon to emerge and fly off to complete its life cycle. But in exiting the cocoon, the silk threads ...