How do males find females?

By smelling pheromones with feathery antennae

Atlas Moth Quiz: Giant Wings and Snake-Head Wing Tips

This atlas moth quiz meets one of the world's largest moths in the forests of Southeast Asia. Play 10 interactive questions on a wingspan of around 25 cm, wing tips shaped like snake heads, clear windows in the wings, adults without working mouths, a life of about one to two weeks on stored fat, pheromone-sniffing males and cocoons once made into purses.

Start Atlas Moth Quiz

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Region
Where does the atlas moth live?
Size
What is the atlas moth famous for?
Span
About how wide can its wings spread?
Snake
What do the wing tips resemble?
Window
What clear patches appear on its wings?
Mouth
What is unusual about adult atlas moths?
Life
About how long do adults live?
Fat
Where does that stored energy come from?
Males
How do males find females?
Silk
What were atlas moth cocoons sometimes made into?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Where does the atlas moth live?
Answer: Southeast Asian forests
It ranges across tropical Asia.
Q2: What is the atlas moth famous for?
Answer: Its huge wings
It is one of the largest moths.
Q3: About how wide can its wings spread?
Answer: Around 25 cm
That is larger than a hand.
Q4: What do the wing tips resemble?
Answer: Snake heads
This may scare predators.
Q5: What clear patches appear on its wings?
Answer: Transparent windows
They let light through.
Q6: What is unusual about adult atlas moths?
Answer: They have no working mouth
They cannot eat.
Q7: About how long do adults live?
Answer: One to two weeks
They live on stored fat.
Q8: Where does that stored energy come from?
Answer: Eating as a caterpillar
Caterpillars eat many leaves.
Q9: How do males find females?
Answer: By smelling pheromones with feathery antennae
They can detect them from far away.
Q10: What were atlas moth cocoons sometimes made into?
Answer: Purses
Their silk is tough.

Giant Wings and No Mouth

The atlas moth lives in the forests of Southeast Asia and is one of the largest moths in the world, with a wingspan of around 25 cm. Its rusty wings have transparent windows, and the tips curve into shapes that resemble snake heads, which may scare away predators.

Adult atlas moths have no working mouth and cannot eat. They live for about one to two weeks on fat stored when they were caterpillars munching through leaves. Their short adult life is spent finding a mate.

Males have large feathery antennae that detect female pheromones from far away. Atlas moth cocoons are made of tough silk, and in parts of Asia they were sometimes made into small purses.

What This Quiz Teaches

Insect fans will enjoy these questions.

Where atlas moths live
How big they are
Why their wings look like snakes
Why they cannot eat
How males find mates

Did You Know?

Caterpillars are pale green with powdery wax.
Females are larger than males.
Butterfly houses display them.
Wings flap slowly to mimic a snake.
Their name may refer to map-like patterns.