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56 Saturniidae silk moth cocoons
and 14 eclosion chambers from which the moths
will emerge over the course of the exhibit. Each
day throughout the month, an enormous moth will
crawl out, climb up its respective berth ladder,
and hang while his or her wings inflate with fluid.
What happens next involves the careful choreography
of mating. Females release a pheromone to call
the males, while the males fly around using their
larger antennae to locate the females. The two
hang paired for twenty-four hours, while the female's
hundreds of eggs are fertilized. The female then
lays her eggs and they rest, and eventually die.
The life cycle of these moths is approximately
5-7 days.
In the spirit of Boston CyberArts Fest, (where Jane
D. Marsching and Deb Todd Wheeler are exhibiting
their individual work across town at the New Art Center
in "Ballad of Hands and Wires) Moth House is a live
sculptural science experiment; an inter-species sculptural
collaboration. If the idea of large moths disturbs you,
Moth House's arresting ethereal presence alone merits
the trip to this remote spot.
Jane's
Moth House images
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