Photo by Dan MacKinnon with inserts from Kurt Himmelbauer. The adult secretes a chemical called cocoonase to break down or soften the sericin that binds the silk strands of the cocoon. Hornlike projections at the base of the forewing are then used to tear at the silk while strong legs continuously heave the moth forward until it can escape from its valveless cocoon. This event sometimes creates a racket in an indoor emergence cage, but the process usually only lasts a few minutes. The moth must now climb up the side of its emergence cage or up a stem or tree trunk so that its wings can hang freely while fluid is pumped into the numerous veins in the wings.
Males tend to fly shortly after dusk.
Females seldom fly until after mating. Unmated females scent again just before dawn. The scent gland protrudes from the posterior end of the abdomen. Photo courtesy of David Wilbur. The same gland is used to expel and affix sticky eggs to the undersides of leaves.