Our experiences with Antheraea oculea, a recently "split" relative of polyphemus. Until the early nineties, oculea was considered a subspecies of polyphemus. Based on the hybridization work of Tuttle, Tuskes and Collins (see "The Wild Silk Moths of North America") oculea was raised from subspecific to specific status. This moth occurs in Arizona and western New Mexico. At first glance, oculea looks just like a polyphemus, except darker, and with more "makeup" around the eyespots. See our Antheraea polyphemus and New Mexico polyphemus pages for more comparisons.

The origin of these oculea we are rearing is Harshaw, Santa Cruz county Arizona. On the night of 01 August 2003 we collected two females which produced lots of ova. I kept a few to rear, for comparison and fun.

As you can see in the below photo, the ova of oculea have a lighter brown ring than polyphemus, very much the same as the New Mexico polyphemus ova.

The larvae hatched in about 10 days, being kept at a temperature between 75* and 80* F. In the first three instars at least, they appear identical to polyphemus larvae. They act the same, eat the same, shed the same, and I don't think they would be distinguishable from polyphemus if their origin was unknown.

This is an early fifth-instar oculea caterpillar. The caterpillars are very similar to polyphemus, with slight differences which may or may not be diagnostic... The light vertical lines on the abdominal segments are a bit wider and more distinct. Also the silver scoli seem to be significantly more pronounced than in polyphemus. Click on the small pic below for a large portrait of a full grown oculea larva. To me, Antheraea larvae epitomize the "big green caterpillar" image that so fascinated me as a kid... part of the whole attraction of the Saturniids I suppose. If your view happens to be just right, these big caterpillars seem to almost glow from within with an emerald light.

Antheraea species have been very easy and satisfying to rear for us. They seem very hardy, they eat well, grow fast, get big, and don't have defensive chemical weapons onboard. The adult moths, although "common" in many areas, are to me some of the most beautiful of our Saturniids. The first of our four larvae spun it's cocoon on 15 September, taking not quite six weeks to develop from ova to pupa. The other three will most likely begin spinning within a few days.
For a comparison of oculea, polyphemus, and the intermediate New Mexico Antheraea, visit our Antheraea polyphemus "intermediate" page.

Our first oculea adult to eclose was a male that appeared on 11 October 03. I was reminded again just how impressive these large moths are in real life!