Callosamia promethea hatches from eggs and feeds on its host plants before pupating while hanging from trees during the winter.

[4][8] They are the only moth in their family where the sexes are not active at the same time of day, with males being diurnal and females being nocturnal.

[8][9] The males use mimicry of the poisonous pipevine swallowtail butterfly as a form of protection from predators.

[8] The range of C. promethea extends the length of the east coast of the United States and west to the Great Plains.

[6] Callosamia promethea utilizes multiple plant families as their hosts, including Rosaceae, Oleaceae and Lauraceae.

[10] Some examples of common host plants are the tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), sassafras (Sassafrass albidum) and spicebush (Lindera benzoin).

[6] Female promethea silkmoths lay their eggs on the leaves of the host plants of the caterpillars.

In the northern part of the promethea silkmoth's range, there is one brood per year and it occurs during the early summer.

[6] The location of the C. promethea cocoon typically provides the pupae with sufficient protection from possible predators.

Promethea silkmoth males mimic the pipe vine swallowtail (Battus philenor), a poisonous butterfly.

Promethea silkmoth males were painted with various patterns, then released, and the amount of each group that was recaptured showed that mimicry helped the moths survive.

The other experimental group was painted with orange stripes to mimic the poisonous monarch butterfly.

This shows that mimicry, specifically the partial mimic of promethea silkmoth males to pipe vine swallowtails, is adequate protection against predation.

[4] Callosamia promethea are polyandrous, meaning the females mate with multiple males.

[4] Callosamia promethea is not endangered and there are no specific management practices in place to maintain or control the species.