The Hercules moth is a behemoth in the insect world: it has the largest wing surface of any known insect in the world. But it hides a horrific secret …
The enormous Australian Hercules moth grows to a wing span of about 27 centimeters (11 inches), but sometimes it can be even larger !
As a caterpillar, it lives around 3 months and feeds, feeds, feeds on tropic trees and plants such as bleeding heart trees, red bean trees and cheese trees,
until it is ready for one of Nature’s true miracles: the metamorphosis to a moth.
[The caterpillars can grow up to over 12 centimeters (~5 inches) long, by the way.]
After the metamorphosis, the huge moth enters the world from its cocoon, and is ready to conquer and reproduce.
What it doesn’t know though, is that it will be a rather short trip.
In comes its horrible secret: it does not have a mouth, so it can’t eat !!!
And if you don’t eat, you die.
And that’s exactly what happens after 10 to 14 days.
The moth flies around on the storage it has built as a caterpillar, and then it fades away.
As if its adult life started with one battery, and one battery only.
And there’s no recharge in the end.