Samia cynthia (Drury, 1773) - Ailanthus Silkmoth

Subspecies in India

This is the domesticated Eri Silkmoth Samia cynthia ricini. Samia canningii is the wild Samia in India.  

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu15
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total15
Samia cynthia (Drury, 1773): Ailanthus altissima (Simaroubaceae), Alcea rosea (Malvaceae), Lysimachia arvensis (Primulaceae), Apium graveolens (Apiaceae), Azadirachta indica (Meliaceae), Berberis spp. (Berberidaceae), Carica papaya (Caricaceae), Cassia fistula (Fabaceae), Coffea spp. (Rubiaceae), Coriaria napalensis (Coriariaceae), Tetradium fraxinifolium, Zanthoxylum acanthopodium, Zanthoxylum armatum (Rutaceae), Gmelina arborea (Lamiaceae), Heteropanax fragrans (Araliaceae), Jatropha curcas, Manihot esculenta, Ricinus communis (Euphorbiaceae), Juglans regia (Juglandaceae), Lagerstroemia indica, Lawsonia inermis (Lythraceae), Ligustrum ovalifolium (Oleaceae)?, Prunus domestica, Pyrus communis (Rosaceae), Psidium guajava (Myrtaceae), Salix spp. (Salicaceae), Solanum dulcamara (Solanaceae), Ziziphus mauritiana (Rhamnaceae) (Robinson et al. 2010)
  1. Peigler, R.S. & Naumann, S., 2003. A revision of the silkmoth genus Samia. University of the Incarnate Word. pp. 224
  2. Meth, T. & Gogoi, H. 2016. Rearing of eri silkworm (Samia cynthia ricini Boisd.)(Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in Arunachal Pradesh: a study in Papumpare district. Bioresources, 3, pp.46-52.

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Samia cynthia (Drury, 1773) – Ailanthus Silkmoth. In Sondhi, S., Y. Sondhi, R.P. Singh, P. Roy and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 3.73. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.mothsofindia.org/samia-cynthia, accessed 2024/04/19.