Perisomena caecigena

Perisomena caecigena (Perisomena caecigena)

Phylum — arthropoda
Class — insecta
Order — lepidoptera
Family — saturniidae

Genus – perisomena

Appearance

The younger caterpillars are black with light brown outgrowths where tufts of hairs are located. The older caterpillars are green with small orange dots, covered with thick short hairs. A narrow yellow stripe runs along the sides of the body.

Females have got the wingspan 62-90 mm and males - 40-65 mm. The body of the butterfly is covered with hairs. Males have feathery antennae. Males have light fawn wings and females - light pinkish-brown. There is a light pink stripe on the wings, separated by a thin wavy brown line. All the wings have eyespots.

Habitat

It is found in Italy and then from south-eastern Austria through Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Albania, the western Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece to most of Turkey and the Caucasus Mountains of the Republic of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. There is also an isolated population in the mountains of Lebanon and Israel.

Behavior

Butterflies are active in the dark.  

Adults are on wing from late September to early November. There is one generation per year. It overwinters in the egg stage.

Diet

The larvae feed on Quercus species, including Quercus robur, Quercus petrea, Quercus pubescens, Quercus cerris and Quercus ilex, but also Populus alba, Populus nigra, Fraxinus, Pyrus and Prunus.

Adult butterflies of this species do not feed and eat the supplies accumulated during the larval period.

Reproduction

For their reproduction you need a mesh terrarium with a size of 70 x 70 x 90 cm.

Females lay up to 100 eggs in batches of up to six on the twigs of trees. The eggs are oval with a marbled gray-black pattern. The laid eggs should be removed into the refrigerator before the appearance of fresh foliage. The keeper should maintain the temperature of 2-5 ^oC and the humidity of 60-70%. It is better to keep the caterpillars in mesh terrariums of 6-8 pieces. Forage plants should be replaced every 3-4 days. At the bottom, you can put wet paper towels that need to be replaced every day. The caterpillar develops for about 2 months at room temperature. Older caterpillars should be placed in a container of loose moistened coconut substrate mixed with dry leaves, because the caterpillars pupate in the ground. The cocoon is light brown, reticulated. The pupa is brown. The pupal stage lasts a little more than 3 months. Cocoons are best stored in the shade on the balcony in a container with moss, maintaining a humidity of about 75%. Butterflies live for about a week.

In captivity

The mesh terrarium with a size of 70 × 70 × 90 mm is suitable for keeping butterflies. Room temperature is necessary.