Actias luna (Linnaeus)

On February 20, 2019 By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, Saturniidae, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This species is probably one of the most beautiful moths found in the eastern U.S. I’ve been extremely fortunate to encounter luna moths rather regularly growing up in Wisconsin. Their large size coupled with the green coloration makes this species easily identified and admired.

This is one of the more common Saturniidae species found throughout the eastern U.S. The life cycle is similar as other giant silk moths here in the U.S. The caterpillars can be found on a wide variety of plants including birch, sweet gum, and walnuts among many others. Like other silk moths the adults do not feed and only live for a very short time.

Even though I live in Colorado now and out of range of the luna moth I still vividly remember always seeing them growing up. I currently have a handful of specimens, mostly from Wisconsin but also from Arkansas.

Other Online Sources:

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Actias-luna

https://bugguide.net/node/view/562

Antheraea polyphemus (Cramer)

On January 28, 2019January 31, 2019 By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, SaturniidaeLeave a comment

This species was the most common Saturniid I encountered growing up in Wisconsin. Seeing one was always a treat as were the other species of Saturniidae. I remember on one particular fruitful blacklighting session back in 2012 we had 5 of them show up, which for Wisconsin, I consider pretty good.

This is a large species that can have a wingspan of up to 6 inches. The overall tan color is distinctive and contrast with the dark coloring surrounding the eyes on the hindwings. This is a common species found throughout the eastern U.S. and also has scattered records throughout the western states as well. The pair in the photo below were found in Colorado Springs, CO. I didn’t collect them as they were in the midst of mating.

One of the things I’ve always been amazed at is the size of the caterpillars and the life cycle which takes 1 year. The adults eclose in the spring and only live about 1 week as they don’t have mouthparts to feed. The caterpillars hatch and feed throughout the summer and early fall and then they pupate and over-winter.

I have a handful of specimens, all collected from Wisconsin.

Other online sources:

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/MISC/MOTHS/polyphemus_moth.htm

https://bugguide.net/node/view/427

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Antheraea-polyphemus

Alypia octomaculata (Fabricius)

On January 16, 2019 By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, NoctuidaeLeave a comment

This is a species that is always a treat to see. I was fortunate to see this species relatively often growing up and continues to bring me some sort of nostalgia every time I see one. The contrasting black and white coloration along with the orange legs makes this species a real beauty.

This species ranges throughout the eastern U.S with some scattered records in some western states. There are some other species that look similar so depending on the location you might need to double check to make sure you have this species. Though this is usually only true in the western and more northern parts of its range.

28061821_10215638326212262_2070763998629675373_o

Larvae can be found feeding on grape and Virginia Creeper. Adults are actually day flying as well and are often found taking nectar at various plants.Even though this species isn’t large by any means it is steal an eye popper and adds some color to the Noctuidae drawers. I have only a handful of specimens in the collection, all being from Wisconsin. I’m still on the hunt for some western specimens.

Other online sources:

https://bugguide.net/node/view/485

https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Alypia-octomaculata

Xylophanes tersa (Linnaeus)

On January 11, 2019January 11, 2019 By Erik OstrumIn Lepidoptera, SphingidaeLeave a comment

I’ve only encountered this species once while I was working in Arkansas. Luckily I was able to catch it for the collection. I was out collecting around the light pole and security light when this individual came flying in. I was really excited to be able to get a new species to the collection.

dscn2063

Xylophanes tersa can be found throughout much of the eastern U.S though its much more common in the southern states as it migrates north every year. This is an unmistakable species so getting a correct ID should be really easy. The abdomen is extremely pointed and it has a very streamline body. The hindwings have very contrasting black and yellow/white markings.

Caterpillar host plants include smooth buttonplant, starclusters, catalpa plus a few others.

Currently there is 1 specimen in the collection collected in eastern Arkansas.