Antique museum-style entomological glass box (21x30x5cm) in perfect condition, containing
a splendid, enormous male nocturnal lepidoptera Attacus atlas of the Saturnidae family. Often considered the world's largest butterfly, with a record measured wingspan of 30cm. With its broad red, brown and brown wings, with lighter shades of yellow, white and orange, Atlas is said to have the largest wing surface of all Lepidoptera. The wings have two translucent, triangular "windows" on each pair. It should be noted, and this is clearly visible on the specimen shown, that the tips of the forewings resemble a snake's head, with a black spot and a grey eyebrow representing the eye and a red line simulating the mouth underneath, which has earned it its vernacular name of Cobra Butterfly.
On the front of the head, the "feathery" antennae are particularly well-developed. The caterpillar, which can feed in tea plantations where it is considered a pest, measures 10 to 12 cm in length, with a diameter of 2.5 to 3 cm. Both male and female adults do not feed, as their digestive tract is atrophied. They live only a few days to reproduce. These butterflies live in Asia, from India to China, including all the countries of the former French Indochina. They can also be found throughout Indonesia, all the way to New Guinea. The specimen shown here comes from Thailand, where they can be raised in greenhouses after harvesting their large cocoons.
The box and the 24 cm butterfly are in perfect condition.