The Cecropia: An Incredible Eating Machine

Authors

Linda B. Hoffman, Adel-DeSoto Community Schools

Document Type

Article

Abstract

One of Iowa's most dramatic, native insects is the cecropia moth, Hyalophora cecropia. The larvae of this large, woodland moth feed on the leaves of native trees such as birch, maple, ash, willow, elm, apple and wild cherry (Swan and Papp, 1972). The adults are most prevalent in Iowa in late spring and early summer. In late summer the most prevalent stage is represented by large, distinctive caterpillars. In late fall, the dominant stage is the spindle-shaped, pupal cocoons found attached to the twigs of deciduous trees or in litter at base of trees.

Publication Date

April 1978

Journal Title

Iowa Science Teachers Journal

Volume

15

Issue

1

First Page

24

Last Page

27

Copyright

© Copyright 1978 by the Iowa Academy of Science

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Hoffman, Linda B. (1978) "The Cecropia: An Incredible Eating Machine," Iowa Science Teachers Journal: Vol. 15: No. 1, Article 15.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/istj/vol15/iss1/15