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Saturniid (Buck Moth) Eggs

Hemileuca sp. (possibly H. mania)

Photo by LaurenZarate
Published on Project Noah
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16.7354, -92.6387

Field Notes

Description:

These look like the eggs of a large moth, most likely a Buck Moth which lays its eggs in rings around the twigs of the host plant. The eggs completely encircled the branch for a distance of about 2 cm. It is hard to figure how the moth did this, up and down the branch in a line, or continuously circling the branch....Family Saturniidae. The adult moth was spotted previously:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/19379290/fullscreen.

Habitat:

Abandoned lot, semi-urban area on the outskirts of San Cristobal de Las Casas, 2,200 meters.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (3)

I think those are more likely mania or possibly even numa. I am pretty sure tricolor does not fly south of Sinaloa. The gray post median area on tricolor is much reduced compared to the images of the moth you show as potentially tricolor. Bill Oehlke
Thank you Burnuhwill, I think you must be right, spiraling along the branch would be the most energy efficient.
This looks very interesting. I believe, when laying eggs like this, moths typically spiral around the branch, laying a few eggs along the length of the branch, and then moving along her spiral path.

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