Image of Regal Moth

Description:

This 2008 image depicts a ventral view, i.e., from below, of a Regal Moth, Citheronia regalis pupa.

Found buried in the rural Georgia dirt, this pupa represents the next phase of development of this moth, which follows the caterpillar known as the hickory horned devil. See PHIL 10766, 10767, 10768, 10769, and 10770 for images depicting this caterpillar in all its majestic splendor. Like butterflies, moths are holometabolous organisms, which means that they undergo a complete metamorphosis as they pass through their four developmental stages: embryo, larva, i.e., caterpillar, pupa, which is the case here, and imago, or adult. See PHIL 10821 and 10824, for a closer look at the cephalic, or head end of this pupa.
Created: 2008