Beobachtungen zum Kleinwuchs bei Attacus Linnaeus, 1767 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae)

"Eggs of Attacus lorquinii C. & R. FELDER, 1861 from Marinduque, Philippines were received from a Swiss breeder in January 2021. The larvae were reared successfully indoors in Germany between 11.ii.2021 and 22.iii.2021 using Ligustrum ovalifolium HASSK. (Oleaceae) as substitute host plant. Six larval instars were observed which are typical for taxa in the genus Attacus. 12 male and 10 female adults hatched from 22 cocoons between 03.v.2021 and 21.v.2021. Although the larval stages passed quickly and without losses during the winter season, one male and one female each with an unnaturally small wing size hatched from cocoon. So the question arises as to whether an occasional dwarfism would generally be possible with moths of the genus Attacus, or whether this observation must be attributed to unknown rearing influences, see also U. & L. H. Paukstadt (2020). In our opinion rearing influences can almost be excluded in this case because the rearing conditions for all larvae were identical. No abnormalities were observed, except that individual larvae were smaller in size although they showed the same vitality. The lengths of forewings are shown in a table for comparisons."