Dear readers; this website accepts caresheet submitted by readers and users. Note; this caresheet was NOT written by the site owner (Bart Coppens)! Instead, it is a submission from a reader. The photos and information on this page came from Jozef Adamek. Thank you for your submission Jozef! The credit for the photos, and information on this page all go to Jozef Adamek.

Attacus lorquinii,the Phillipinean atlas moth,is a giant moth similliar to attacus atlas both in rearing and looks.It can be found in the Indo-Australian regions (Philipines) Its one of the many moths in the genus Attacus. Just like the atlas moth, Attacus lorquinii has decorated tips of the forewings that mimic snakes and can scare off potential predators.

Female imago of attacus lorquinii

The imagos of this moth are quite diffrent.The male is quite smaller and apart of the fuzzy antenae it has more triangular shaped Windows on its wings and a lot smaller than the male.The female has giant almost pear like Windows that are transparent and the famels are also a lot bigger with giant abdomens and less fuzzy antenae.

The eggs of this species are white-ish in color and later become darker when more developed.This can be especially seen when sprayed with water.The eggs hatch in about 2 weeks depending heavily on the temperature and should be sprayed every 2-3days.The first caterpillar hatched on the 16th day whilist the rest of the eggs hatched the next day(on 17th day)The hatchlings of this species are white-ish with a black head and black lines between the segments.They also have a small white spines on their backs.This species is polyphagous meaning they feed on various host plants.

Difficulity Rating: Average – Not the easiest but not hard
Rearing difficulty: 6/10 (From egg to pupa)
Pairing difficulty: 4/10 (Archieving copulations)
Host plants: Ailantus altissima, Ligustrum, Syringa, Citrus, Salix, Persea, Coffea, Aerrhoa, Morus, Ficus, Machylus……
Natural range: Phillipines
Polyphagous: yes
Generations: Multivoltine – continuously brooded
Family: Saturniidae (silkmoths)
Pupation: Cocoon (silk encasing)
Special notes: This species has pink-ish fore wing tips,indicating mostly in captive breeding that its attacus lorquinii.Although with so many attacus species this may be with other species too but since they are not so often captively bred it will probably be lorquin
Wingspan: 17-20cm
Binomial name: Attacus lorquinii C.& R. Felder 1861
Health warning:No

When the caterpillars hatch they should start to eat within 24 hours with their first meal being their egg shells.The caterpillars should be reared in plastic boxes with atleast some ventilation until the third instar(L3)As they grow older they become more robust.In the first instars they can be quite sensitive so dont mess with them too much.Very important is to not overcrowd them.The temperature should be atleast +23Celsius.When they reach the third instar move them to a mesh cage because as they grow bigger they need more space and more ventilation to not fall to a disease.After just 3 days of eating (on ligustrum) they are close to reaching the second  instar.

L1-In the first instar they appear to be white with black segments and a black head.On their backs they bear spikes starting from the head and ending at their last segment.
L2-In the second instar they become larger and the spikes on their back become longer and less spiky,and you can see a orange pigment on the side of them at the back of the caterpillar near the surenal plate.The whole caterpillar also becomes waxy similliar to attacus atlas,the caterpillar is covered in a waxy powder.They are still being reared in a plastic box with adjusted lid(there is a cut out hole in the middle of the lid and replaced with a cloth mesh.
L2

L3-apart from becomming larger and more waxier they are similliar to l2,the biggest diffrence being the orange spiracles appearing on their side.It would be best to place them in a small mesh cage at this point for more ventilation and space and also dont forget to keep them clean.

L3

L4-In this instar they look similliar to l5 and l6 similliar how the l2 looked similliar to l2.They are very waxy especially on top of the caterpillar,some spikes on their heas are orange in color and further down the caterpillar they are white and on the sides they are black.they feed quite well and get bigger quick.Grown l4 or early molted l5 should be moved to a larger mesh cage.

L4
L5-Changes in this instar are quite big,they become severly more greenish instead of being white in the previous instars.They are whiteish on the head and the anal claspers are white aswell,most of their spikes are orange almost blueish at the tips,on the sides black and only couple of them are white.They grow extremely fast and eat a lot it seems more than in the previous instars.they soon get ready to molt to l6 and just sit on branches on the hostplant.I have them in a very hot room in a large mesh cage and i do not mist them.

L5
L6-similliar to the previous instars they are green,when they molt they are a vibrant green but darken overtime and become white-ish on some parts.The tuberculoses(the spikes)are orange with blueish tips overall the whole caterpillar is greenish and blueish.This is the last instar and they eat a lot before incasing into a cocoon.Just before pupating they empty their insides and turn!!!doplnit farbu!!!!and wander around the cage before finding their spot to spin a cocoon.

Cocoons-Brownish cocoons are spun in the crowns of the trees.They need to be sprayed often and kept warm atleast 23+celsius.They emerge in about a month of time depending on the temperature.

Dear readers; this website accepts caresheet submitted by readers and users. Note; this caresheet was NOT written by the site owner (Bart Coppens)! Instead, it is a submission from a reader. The photos and information on this page came from Jozef Adamek. Thank you for your submission Jozef! The credit for the photos, and information on this page all go to Jozef Adamek.

Are you a fan of my website, and would you love to submit a caresheet to me? Then contact me! And maybe we can arrange something. Thank you for the effort Jozef!

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