Ottawa (Dunrobin), ON Canada

4 June 2005   (date of moth capture)  (top)
6 June 2003   (date of moth capture)  (center)
4 June 2005   (date of moth capture)  (bottom)
The photos at top and bottom are of the same specimen.

Hyalophora cecropia, commonly called the Cecropia Moth or Robin Moth, is one of about 10 species of Saturniidae recorded from the Ottawa area (J.D. Lafontaine, pers. comm., 2001). The Saturniidae, variously termed the Giant Silkworm or Royal Moths include our largest and some of our most spectacular moths.

Hyalophora cecropia has dark blackish brown wings with red, white and beige markings. The forewing has a reddish basal area, followed by an incomplete black antemedial line edged with white on the inner side. In the median of both wings, there is a curved spot outlined in black and filled with red-shaded white. The postmedial line is white followed by red, followed in turn by brown. A somewhat irregular band of beige along the outer margin of the forewing includes a fine dark line with three inward points, often followed by white and then beige. The outer margin of the hindwing has parallel stripes of beige and dark brown. Covell (1984) indicates a wingspan from 11 to 15 cm for this species.

According to Handfield (1999), the larvae of Hyalophora cecropia have been reported to feed on many different trees and shrubs, especially maple, but also ash, elm, apple, willow, birch, poplar, lilac and many others. For my general area, he indicates an adult flight season from about mid-May nearly to mid-July.

My records to date for Hyalophora cecropia (each date representing "the night of") are in the table below: