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Mila'sExotic Plants & CuriositiesA living collection by Luminary OdditiesLuminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Coscinocera hercules
Lepidoptera / Saturniidae
The Hercules moth is a large rainforest silk moth of northern Queensland, Australia. Clear wing windows, a heavily built body and the male’s elongated hindwing tails distinguish its adult form.
Read the species account
Coscinocera hercules is an Australian saturniid silk moth. William Henry Miskin described it in 1876 as Attacus hercules from a male and female collected at Cape York. [3]
The grey silk cocoon is enclosed in a host leaf and suspended from a twig by a silk stalk. Adults lack a proboscis and cannot feed or drink. [2]
In northern Queensland, adults are most often encountered during the wet season, although some appear in the dry season. They are attracted to lights. [2]
The original male and female syntypes are held by the Queensland Museum. They anchor the name Coscinocera hercules to the Cape York specimens examined by Miskin. [3]
CSIRO Australian Insect Families · Accessed 2026-10-11
Ted Edwards and Densey Clyne; Australian Natural History21(4),143,146(1984), Australian Museum · Accessed 2026-10-11
Geoff B. Monteith, Queensland Museum; News Bulletin of the Entomological Society of Queensland 51(9):196–203 (2024) · Accessed 2026-10-11
Sources checked 2026-10-11. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
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