| Guinness World Records reports on its website that the polyphemus moth is the greediest animal in the world because it can eat 86,000 times its own weight at birth in the first 2 months of life. You can compare this to a baby eating 273 tons of food! These newly-hatched caterpillars eat as much as they can, then encase themselves in a cocoon. They emerge from their cocoon as adult moths and produce young the same day. Amazingly, adults don't have any mouthparts so they can never eat any food at all.
The polyphemus moth can be found in North America. Its scientific name is Antheraea polyphemus and is named after the one-eyed giant of Greek mythology because of the very visible eyespots on its wings. They are active at night and are a favorite meal of bats.
Credits: Animal information obtained from Guinness World Records, USGS, Yahooligans! Animals, and Polyphemus Moth
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