Photo caption: Tussar Silk Moth
Moths, how beautiful they can be! Unfortunately, we don’t pay enough attention to them. Many of you may not know what ‘moths’ are, or know that they are different from butterflies. Most people think moths are ugly, dull coloured insects that fly around light bulbs. However, the true value of moths is never appreciated.
Well, let’s start with the first question, what are moths? Moths are insects that belong to the Lepidoptera (a category of winged insects) order. Other insects that belong to the same order are butterflies and skippers.
What makes moths so special or important? We can survive without them right?! Well, actually, moths are very important to humans and for our ecosystem. They help in pollinating flowers of fruit-bearing plants and several food crops. Additionally, they are also an indicator species which means that their presence indicates our environment is healthy and the ecosystem is thriving. Moths serve a huge role in the natural food chain. Both adult moths and their caterpillars are food for an immense diversity of wildlife, like insects, spiders, frogs, lizards, birds, and bats.
Finally, why don’t we appreciate moths? That is because most moths come out at night while we are asleep. They are nocturnal, which means they are mainly night creatures; they are dull in appearance as compared to their cousin, the butterfly. In reality, moths are far more ancient than butterflies and have existed on planet Earth for over 200 million years.
One late August evening, a huge moth flew into my balcony. It was the biggest moth I had ever seen. Its wings were bigger than my palm.
I was so amazed with the beauty of this stunning creature. It was brown in colour and had eye-like patches on its wings. I recognized it immediately – it was a Tussar Silk moth! After admiring the moth for a few minutes, I decided to click some pictures. As I was clicking the pictures, I noticed through the camera lens that the moth was actually laying eggs! I could not believe my eyes. I had never witnessed the egg laying process of any insect. But sadly, the poor moth had chosen the wrong host plant. It was laying eggs on a Bougainvillea shrub, while the Tussar Silk Moth generally lays eggs on wild berry, wild nut, or the jamun trees. Later, she also laid eggs on my balcony glass' window pane.
Photo caption: Tussar Silk Moth laying eggs (Source: Author)
Tussar Silk Moths lay egg in clusters. When they dry, they harden and become difficult to separate. I knew I had to act fast before the cluster dried down. I quickly grabbed a box and put the moth and her eggs inside it. The eggs take a week to hatch so I had enough time to search my neighbourhood and find the right host plant for release of the caterpillars.
The moth finally laid all her eggs by the next afternoon. There were over 50 eggs clustered together. The moth died soon after. Since Tussar Silk moths don’t have a mouth, they do not eat or drink anything, surviving only on the energy they collected while eating as a caterpillar. The only purpose of an adult Tussar Silk Moth is to reproduce and this moth had completed its purpose.
About six days later, I woke up to few tiny caterpillars hatching from the eggs. I was delighted! Throughout the day, and for the next few days, the eggs hatched in batches. I spent hours watching the tiny caterpillars break free from the eggs and munch on the eggshells. By that time, I had already identified a few host tress in my neighbourhood. I took the caterpillars and released them on its new host branches. However, I kept five of them with me so that I could study their lifecycle. I made a large terrarium, fed them fresh leaves every day and watched them grow to adulthood.
I monitored the caterpillars for the next few weeks and noticed that they changed in appearance several times. They shed their skin, changed their colour – from yellow to green, and soon transformed from nail-sized crawlies to fatter than my thumb. This transformation took about 15 to 18 days. Then one day, one of the caterpillars stopped eating. It crawled up to a corner of the terrarium and stayed there for a while. Soon, it began spinning white silk web. Once the caterpillar was safely secured inside, the cocoon hardened and stayed firmly fixed on the terrarium wall. Over time, other caterpillars followed the same process.
Photo caption: Egg clusters of the Tussar Silk Moth (Source: Author)
About a month later, the first moth emerged out of the cocoon. It was stunning –just like its mother. That same evening, I took it to a nearby nut tree and set it free.
Photo caption: Caterpillar of the Tussar Silk Moth
15-year-old Delhi homeschooler who studies butterflies and moths in nature