Antheraea assamensis is a wide ranging species found from northern India east into much of China. This moth can be a dark color or a pale color. This form is somewhat pale in coloration.

This form found in Thailand does not appear to match either the typical A. assamensis or the typical castanaea as pictured in D'Abrera. We suggest this is probably Antheraeopsis tenasserimensis.

Genus Antheraeopsis

Before attempting an analyses of this genus a few observations are perhaps in order. Antheraea assamensis was the first species described in this complex by Westwood in 1847. This complex has been moved to a new genus entitled Antheraeopsis.

The Antheraeopsis complex was bred for a unique kind of silk called Mugo silk. If we combine that knowledge with the comments quoted by D'Abrera that originated from Peigler relating to Antheraea frithi and Antheraea paphia, we can begin to make some suggestions as to the species status in Antheraeopsis group.

The first question that must be asked: Was this species domesticated once, or perhaps several times with different native ancestors?

The Antheraeopsis genus should be placed as a subgenus to the Antheraea genus. This group of moths is very distinctive, and members of this group are easy to separate from other species in the region from India to Malaysia and from India to China and south to the Philippines.

There appear to be about 20 different named life forms in the genus Antheraeopsis. D?Abrera in his recent book that covers the genus Antheraea has reduced all of these assamensis lifeforms to synonyms of Antheraea assamensis.

From a different perspective a web site entitled "WWW.BoldSystems.org" listed in November 2014 13 full species with another 5 subspecies (placed under the Philippine A. paniki). This totals 18 lifeforms.

Another site from Germany entitled Saturniidae-web.de lists 13 lifeforms including an extra lifeform under A. paniki. However, they reduce A. assamensis, subvelata, mezops, and brunnea to synonyms.

Our opinion: This complex has been bred for centuries for the valuable silk produced. Consequently, this complex probably contains several full species, several subspecies, and probably some breeds. (Cats, dogs, cattle, goats, and other species have breeds that have been developed by mankind. It seems only logical when science finally finishes with an analyses of this group that several breeds will emerge.)

We have been able to tentatively deduce the disposition of several of these life forms. We have listed them in date of original description as follows:

Antheraea assamensis Helfer 1837: With a name like assamensis, we speculate that the type for this lifeform was taken in Assam. Assam is located in NE India near Myanmar. Myanmar (old name is Burma) has an unusual shape with a long southern tail reaching down into the Malaysian Peninsula reaching over 1,200 miles from North to South. Consequently, this lifeform could be also found in northern Myanmar. The image in D?Abrera is a small very dark specimen with very little white edging in the dorsal rear wings. (New students of taxonomy must realize that this lifeform could be a subspecies of a different lifeform or even a breed for a different lifeform. This is just the first species published in the Antheraeopsis complex, and it awaits a cladistic analyses. )

Antheraea assamensis, Westwood 1847. The Saturniidae web site shows this as a synonym of the previously described A. assamensis.

Antheraea perottey Guerin-Memeville 1855. D?Abrera notes this lifeform is from southern India and Ceylon. He also notes this is a small pale species. (Why is this absent on the Saturniidae site? Perhaps under Antheraea??)

Antheraea mezankooria Moore 1862.

Antheraea castanea Jordan 1910. Jordan was one of the authors of the revision of the New World Papilio. This was an excellent work, and we would expect this moth to be a valid species. The Boldsystems web site shows images for 7 specimens from China and 3 from Vietnam. D?Abrera shows pictures a lifeform from XXXXX. The D?Abrera image is larger and has more white trim on the dorsal rear wing than the Antheraea assamensis image.

Antheraea youngi Watson 1915. The Boldsystems web site shows specimens from Malaysia(8), Indonesia(7), Thailand(3), and Myanmar(1). We note that both Thailand and Myanmar have long southern geographic extensions in the Malaysian Peninsula. Furthermore, we note that Sumatra and Malaysia share many species in beetles and butterflies.

Antheraea compta. This name appears on the Saturnidae web site.

Antheraea chengtuana, Watson 1923. (This lifeform is not mentioned by D?Abrera in his A. assamensis complex. However, the Boldsysems web site in November 20-14 showed 30 specimens from China and 32 from Vietnam.

Antheraea subvelata Bouvier 1930. The Saturniidae web site shows this as a synonym of A. assamensis.

Antheraea biedermanni Niepelti 1932. This reference is mentioned by D?Abrera. This is not mentioned by either the Saturnidae or Boldsystems web sites.

Antheraea formosana Sonan 1937. There are 6 images from Taiwan and one from Myanmar(?) on the Boldsystems web site.

Antheraea rubigena Toxopeus 1940. This is mentioned by D?Abrera. There are 2 images from Indonesia on the Boldsystems website.

Antheraea mezops 1944 is listed as a synonym of Antheraea castanea on the Saturniidae web site.

Antheraea brunei Allen and Holloway 1986 This appears to be from Indonesia. This might be a synonym of Antheraea youngi.

Antheraea mooga 1993 Chu and Wang. This lifeform is listed by D?Abrera as a synonym to Antheraea assamensis, but is ignored on the two previously mentioned web sites as of November 2014.

Antheraea yunnanensis Chu and Wang 1993 listed on the Saturnidae web site.

Antheraea paniki Nassig and Treadway 1998. (There are subspecies as follows for this lifeform: A. paniki paniki, A. paniki bacoensis, A. paniki canlaonensis, A. paniki dolangensis, and A. paniki sahi.) These are all from the Philippines (and possibly found further south).

Antheraea rudloffi Brechin 2001 - This species was found in the Andaman Islands.

Antheraeopsis inthanoenensis Paukstadt and Paukstadt 2013 This is found in Thailand (13) and Laos (3)

Antheraeopsis tenasserimensis Paukstadt and Paukstadt 2013 This is found in Myanmar (7) and Thailand (3)

Antheraea rubigena - Probably a ssp of assamensis - We can not yet locate author and date

We now show in Bio Libe: (In Sequence)

A. assamensis ssp Pale orange form Thailand in May (DC13285A,B)
A. formosana - - No SSP - Taiwan 1969 - (DC134052A,B) Very pale orange
A. inthanonensis - No Ssp Laos July ( DC13131A)
A. paniki - Philippines June 1998 - (DC13060A,B)
A. tenasserimensis ? Thailand May - DC14179A (Arrived as A. paniki, we let data prioritize)
A. tenasserimensis - Thailand, Chiang Mai, an older specimen ( Similar to above)

This is the first sub group of the genus Antheraea. The genus has been changed to Antheraeopsis. Although D'Abrera recognizes only one species in this assamensis group, most modern authors recognize about 10 different full species. We see many contradictions in the literature in this group, but attempt to show many of the species.

Saturnid moths (family Saturnidae)are the giants of the moth world. They are usually characterized by their unique feather-like antennae. Males usually have larger antennae used to locate the females. Many species have transparent eye spots on their wings.

Typically, the males find the females upon emergence and copulate immediately. The United States government has frequently researched the sensing mechanism that permits the males to find the females in hopes of finding a military application.

Butterflies and Moths (Order Lepidoptera) are a group of insects with four large wings. They go through various life cycles including eggs, caterpillar (larvae), pupae, and adult. Most butterflies and moths feed as adults, but primarily do most of their growing in the larval or caterpillar stage. Also, most species are restricted to feeding as caterpillars upon a unique set of plants. In this pairing of insects to plants, there arises a unique plant population control system. When one plant species becomes too common, specific pests to that species also become more common and thus prevent the further spreading of that particular plant species.

Although most people think of the Lepidoptera as two different groups: butterflies and moths, technically, the concept is not valid.

Some families, such as Silk Moths (Saturnidae) and Hawk Moths (Sphingidae), are clearly moths. Other families, such as Swallowtail Butterflies (Papilionidae), are clearly butterflies, However, several families exhibit characteristics that appear to be neither moths nor butterflies. For example: the Castnia Moths of South America are frequently placed in the Skipper Family (Hesperidae). The Sunset Moths (Uranidae) have long narrow antennae and fly during the day.

The Saturnidae (Silk Moths) and Papilionidae (Swallowtails) are two Lepidoptera families that have been very carefully researched as to species and subspecies. The current thinking is that if the male genitalia are alike, then the two specimens belong to the same species. As an amateur, your editor disagrees with this premise. If the genitalia are different, then no doubt two species are involved. However, if the genitalia are alike, it only proves that the genitalia are alike.

Consider Papilio multicaudata which is found in southern Canada at higher altitudes. Papilio multicaudata is found south through the Rocky Mountains as far south as Mexico City, and recently as far south as Guatemala. With different food plants, different soil types, different climates, and different seasonal patterns, it is hard to believe that this complex is all one species.

Consider capturing 100 living individuals at any life stage in Guatemala and then carrying them north to southern Canada. Would these individuals survive through several generations. If they would not survive, then this author would conclude that two different species are involved!

In the Saturnidae consider Eacles imperialis subspecies pini. This life form feeds on pines. Is not this sufficient to justify a full species status?

Note: Numerous museums and biologists have loaned specimens to be photographed for this project.



Insects (Class Insecta) are the most successful animals on Earth if success is measured by the number of species or the total number of living organisms. This class contains more than a million species, of which North America has approximately 100,000. (Recent estimates place the number of worldwide species at four to six million.)

Insects have an exoskeleton. The body is divided into three parts. The foremost part, the head, usually bears two antennae. The middle part, the thorax, has six legs and usually four wings. The last part, the abdomen, is used for breathing and reproduction.

Although different taxonomists divide the insects differently, about thirty-five different orders are included in most of the systems.

The following abbreviated list identifies some common orders of the many different orders of insects discussed herein:

Odonata: - Dragon and Damsel Flies
Orthoptera: - Grasshoppers and Mantids
Homoptera: - Cicadas and Misc. Hoppers
Diptera: - Flies and Mosquitoes
Hymenoptera: - Ants, Wasps, and Bees
Lepidoptera: - Butterflies and Moths
Coleoptera: - Beetles


Jointed Legged Animals (Phylum Arthropoda) make up the largest phylum. There are probably more than one million different species of arthropods known to science. It is also the most successful animal phylum in terms of the total number of living organisms.

Butterflies, beetles, grasshoppers, various insects, spiders, and crabs are well-known arthropods.

The phylum is usually broken into the following five main classes:
Arachnida: - Spiders and Scorpions
Crustacea: - Crabs and Crayfish
Chilopoda: - Centipedes
Diplopoda: - Millipedes
Insecta: - Insects

There are several other "rare" classes in the arthropods that should be mentioned. A more formal list is as follows:

Sub Phylum Chelicerata
C. Arachnida: - Spiders and scorpions
C. Pycnogonida: - Sea spiders (500 species)
C. Merostomata: - Mostly fossil species

Sub Phylum Mandibulata
C. Crustacea: - Crabs and crayfish

Myriapod Group
C. Chilopoda: - Centipedes
C. Diplopoda: - Millipedes
C. Pauropoda: - Tiny millipede-like
C. Symphyla: - Garden centipedes

Insect Group
C. Insecta: - Insects

The above list does not include some extinct classes of Arthropods such as the Trilobites.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

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