Antheraea roylei Moore, 1859 - Himalayan Oak Tasar Silk Moth

Subspecies in India

Replaces Antheraea pernyi roylei, which was earlier on the website. See notes on similar species. 

Taxonomic Information

Antheraea Hübner, 1819 species known from India. 
Antheraea roylei Moore, 1859. Indian Himalaya. 
Antheraea assamensis Helfer, 1837. India: Himalaya, NE India; Bangladesh
Antheraea helferi Moore, 1859. India: E. Himalaya, NE India. 
Antheraea frithi Moore, 1859. India: E. Himalaya, NE India.
Antheraea paphia (Linnaeus, 1758). India. 
Antheraea andamana Moore, 1877. Andaman Is. 
Antheraea cingalesa Moore, 1883. Sri Lanka. 
Antheraea insularis Watson, 1914. Andaman Is. 
Antheraea meisteri Brechlin, 2002. Andaman Is.
Antheraea rubicunda Brechlin, 2009. Andaman Is. 
Antheraea rudloffi Brechlin, 2002. Andaman Is.
Antheraea compta Rothschild, 1899. India: Sikkim, Meghalaya (Khasi Hills). 
Antheraea castanea Jordan, 1910. India: Meghalaya (Khasi Hills). 
 

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh113
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh1
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland1
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal11
Total12141
Antheraea roylei Moore, 1859 – Himalayan Oak Tasar Silk Moth: Avena spp. (Poaceae), Betula alnoides (Betulaceae), Cyperus esculentus (Cyperaceae), Daphniphyllum himalense (Daphniphyllaceae), Tetradium fraxinifolium (Rutaceae), Lithocarpus dealbatus, Quercus acutissima, Quercus floribunda, Quercus glauca, Quercus helferiana, Quercus leucotrichofolia, Quercus semecarpifolia, Quercus serrata (Fagaceae), Madhuca longifolia (Sapotaceae), Malus pumila, Pyrus communis (Rosaceae) (Robinson et al. 2010).
  1. OD: Antheraea roylei Moore, 1858. Cat. Lep. Ins. Mus. E. I. House. 2, 397, no 919. 
  2. Haruta, T. (Ed.). 1992. Moths of Nepal. Part 1. TINEA. Vol. 13 (Supplement 2). The Japan Heterocerists’ Society, Tokyo. Pl. 26/4. 
  3. Nässig, W.A. and Holloway, J.D., 2010. Nomenclatural note on the correct name for Antheraea roylei, 1859 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). Nachrichten des Entontologischen Vereins Apollo, 31(1–2), p.92.
  4. Peigler, R.S., 2012. Diverse evidence that Antheraea pernyi (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) is entirely of sericultural origin. Tropical Lepidoptera Research, 22(2), pp.93-99.
  5. Kitching, I.J., Rougerie, R., Zwick, A., Hamilton, C.A., St Laurent, R.A., Naumann, S., Mejia, L.B. and Kawahara, A.Y., 2018. A global checklist of the Bombycoidea (Insecta: Lepidoptera). Biodiversity data journal, (6).
  6. http://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=455120 [accessed 09 January 2020]

Page citation

Anonymous 2025. Antheraea roylei Moore, 1859 – Himalayan Oak Tasar Silk Moth. In Sondhi, S., Y. Sondhi, R.P. Singh, P. Roy and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 3.82. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.mothsofindia.org/antheraea-roylei, accessed 2025/02/07.