Lyapunov, Weinstein, and Moser obtained remarkable theorems giving sufficient conditions for the existence of periodic orbits emanating from an equilibrium point of a differential system with a first integral. Using averaging theory, we establish a similar result for a differential system without assuming the existence of a first integral. Our result can also be interpreted as a kind of special Hopf bifurcation. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.