The Largest Moth In The World

Attacus Atlas: Biggest Moth In The World: 10 inches Wwingspan

Do you usually get creeped out by moths you see during the night? Well get a load of the world’s largest moth! A species called: Attacus atlas which has an amazing wingspan of over 25 centimeters!

The females of this amazing species are usually heavier and bigger than the males. In Hong Kong, this gigantic moth is also known as “snake’s head moth”… why you ask?
Because of its upper wing which has an extension shaped as a snake’s head.

This amazing insect only survives for one to two weeks due to the fact that it doesn’t have a fully developed mouth, to enable it to feed itself, hence, it uses up all of the fat accumulated as a larvae, and then dies of starvation. Luckily, in the short time that the biggest moth in the world lives, it manages to mate, lay eggs and assure the survival of its species.

Image source

This interesting species of moths gets its name form the Greek mythology… namely Atlas The Titan, there’s no question as to why that is so.

You might be wondering weather or not this giant moth is useful for something, well, you should know that in India, Atlas moths are grown for the silk their larvae produce. As opposed to the silk produced by the related Silkworm moth (Bombyx mori), Atlas moth silk is a brown, wool-like silk, secreted as broken strands, not full liniar silk.

Have a look below and observe just how amazing this creature is… it’s huge and yet so beautiful.

Image source

And below you can watch a video of an exemplary of Attacus Atlas:

But who are the runner-ups as far as the the title for largest moth in the world is concerned. Well have a look below and see for yourself.

1. Hyalophora cecropia (16 cm wingspan)

Image source

The Cecropia Moth is the largest moth in North America with a wingspan of 160 mm or more.

2. The Saturniidae (15 cm wingspan)

Image source

The saturniids are one of the largest species of moths in the world with an amazing wingspan of 15 centimeters. The even more interesting part about his is the fact that they form a family of Lepidoptera, which have an estimated 2,300 described species throughout the world.

3. Actias luna (4.5 inches wingspan)

Image source

This huge inset is about the size of your palm, meaning its wings have a span of 14 centimeters.

4. Polyphemus Moth (15 cm wingspan)

Image source

This is another member of the Saturniidae family and it’s a giant silk moth. It gets its name from its spots, which resemble the cyclops, hence it was named after the Greek myth of the Cyclops Polyphemus.