Chinese Oak Silkmoth
Antheraea pernyi
The silent one behind two thousand years of silk
The Chinese Oak Silkmoth is a large, rust-brown moth with a transparent eyespot on each forewing and hindwing, and the core species of China’s traditional tussah silk industry. As an adult its mouthparts have degenerated, so it never feeds again — all its energy goes into mating and egg-laying.
Key figures
- Wingspan
- About 120–150 mm; females are larger than males
- Lifespan
- Adult mouthparts are degenerated and non-feeding; lifespan is usually only about a week
- Habitat
- Oak (Quercus) woodland and cultivated oak plantations
- Diet
- Larvae feed exclusively on oak and other Fagaceae leaves; adults do not feed
- Silk
- Mature larvae spin silk to form a cocoon; the cocoon silk is the raw material for tussah silk
- Mate-finding
- Males’ comb-like (pectinate) antennae are extremely sensitive to female pheromones, letting them locate mates from far away
Life cycle
Egg → Larva (five instars) → Pupa (in cocoon) → Adult (about 1 week)
Ecological role
Chinese Oak Silkmoth larvae are common plant-feeders in oak woodland and are the core species of China’s traditional tussah silk industry; wild and semi-domesticated populations have long coexisted with oak forest ecosystems.
Did you know
Unlike the domestic silkworm, this moth is not raised indoors — it is released into wild oak forests and tended by workers patrolling the hillsides. China produces over 90 percent of the world’s tussah silk.
Range
Main production areas in Northeast and North China and Shandong; also the Russian Far East and the Korean Peninsula
Status
A semi-domesticated species and the primary moth used in China’s traditional tussah silk industry
Anatomy
- Eyespots — A transparent eyespot on each forewing and hindwing, suddenly exposed like an eye opening when startled
- Antennae — Broad and feather-like (plumose) in males, densely covered in receptors used to track a female’s scent
- Forewing — Rust-brown with a darker leading edge; folds against the body at rest to resemble a dead leaf
- Hindwing — Paler in color, with a faint halo of light shading around the eyespot
- Thorax — Densely furred; must vibrate its wings to warm the flight muscles before takeoff
- Abdomen — In females the tip releases a pheromone that can draw in males from several hundred meters away
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