The Comet moth (Argema mittrei), a large silk moth, is
found only in the wild in certain parts of
Madagascar but is able to be easily breed in captivity. In
Madagascar There are a few breeding areas and there are a few zoos
that are successfully breeding them as well.
The Madagascan Moon Moth or Comet Moth is one of the world's
biggest, the male has a wing span of twenty centimeters and a
tail span of fifteen centimeters. As a Moth they only live for 4
or 5 days and they are only fertile the first day after eclosing
from the
cocoon. The cocoon has holes in it to allow water to drain from
it in it's rainforest climate. As a caterpillar they feed on eucalyptus leaves and grow
to a reasonable size before spinning their cocoon. This
particular type of moth only lives in Madagascar of the south
coast of Africa. Due to the great success of
captive breeding this beautiful moth is no longer an endangered species.
