Moth Of The Week

Moth of the Week

Southern Flannel Moth

Megalopyge opercularis

The southern flannel moth is a part of the family Megalopygidae, the family of flannel moths or crinkled flannel moths. It was described by Sir James Edward Smith in 1797. They get the name “flannel moth” from being covered in setae, hair like bristles that give them a fuzzy, soft look.

Description Adult moths have round, hairy bodies ranging in coloration from cream at the bottom to yellow or light brown at the head. It’s legs are the same brown as the body with black feet. The forewings fade from a darker brown to cream with black/dark brown at the top edge or “costal margin.” The outer margin is white and the middle of the forewings have white patterning. The hindwings are fully cream or have a similar gradient. The antennae of females are thin and white, while males have feathery yellow antennae. Males and females may have differing coloration. Females are larger than males.

The caterpillars are known for their long stinging hairs and their unusual amount of prolegs. Flannel moth caterpillars have 7 pairs of prolegs, while all other butterfly and moth caterpillars have 5 or fewer.

Average wingspan: 30 mm (≈1.18 in)

Diet and Habitat This species live on oak, elm, and wild plum as well as many garden plants such as roses and ivy. Adult moths do not feed.

It’s distributed across the eastern United States/Gulf Coast. They range from New Jersey to Florida and west to Arkansas and Texas. It is common in Florida but reaches its greatest abundance in Texas. They can reach further south to Mexico and Central America. They are commonly found in wooded areas like deciduous forests but can also be found in urban and suburban gardens.

Mating This moths has 2 generations per year, one in the summer and one in the fall. Late larvae may overwinter in their cocoon and emerge in late spring. Females usually mate the night of they leave their cocoons and lay their eggs during the first two nights following mating. Eggs are laid in single or double curved rows and occasionally in patches on foliage or small twigs and are covered with hair from the under side of the female to protect them. Eggs hatch in six to eight days.

Predators Observations of this moth’s predators is lacking, but there are a few reports of lacewing feeding on their eggs and a lizard eating a later instar. It is assumed they are preyed on by other common predators of moths like birds, bats, praying mantises, lady beetles, and ants. At least four species of tachinid flies and two species of ichneumonid wasp have been reported to parasitize the flannel moth larva. The caterpillar protects itself with long venomous spines. When touched they cause severe skin irritation, described as like a broken bone or blunt-force trauma, or even white hot. The reaction tends to spread:

“The reactions are sometimes localized to the affected area, but are often very severe, radiating up a limb and causing burning, swelling, nausea, headache, abdominal distress, rashes, blisters, and sometimes chest pain, numbness, or difficulty breathing. Sweating from the welts or hives at the site of the sting is not unusual.”

Fun Fact The caterpillars are covered in long setae, making it resemble a tiny Persian cat, which is where it is assumed the name "puss" comes from. Some of the many names for the larva include: puss caterpillar, asp, Italian asp, fire caterpillar, woolly slug, opossum bug, puss moth, tree asp, and asp caterpillar.

(Source: Wikipedia; IFAS Extension, University of Florida; Missouri Department of Conservation; AZ Animals)

Moth of the Week

Cecropia Moth

Hyalophora cecropia

The cecropia moth is a member of the family Saturniidae or the family of giant silk moths. This species was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. This moths gets its name from the mythological kind of Athens, Cecrops I.

Description The cecropia moth’s wings are brown or black with crescent spots which are white in the center and then fade to red then black. They are larger on the hindwings. All the wings also have a white stripe followed by a red one and then frilled white patterns and white and grey edges. The forewings have a black eyespt on the upper corners. The moth’s head and back are red with a white band and dark antennae. The body is hairy with red legs, a white upper body, and an alternating red and white abdomen.

Average wingspan: 15.24 cm (6 in)

Diet and Habitat Caterpillars eat trees and shrubs such as wild cherry, plum, maple, willow, boxelder, apple, crabapple, and lilac, to name a few. Adult moths have no mouths and do not feed. These moths can be found east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. Their range goes west to Washington and north into the majority of Canadian provinces. They prefer hardwood forests and are most commonly found on maple, cherry, and birch trees.

Mating Mating season for this moth is late May or June. The females release pheromones which the males detect with their antennae. They can detect up to a mile away but can fly up to 7 miles during their search. The mating usually begins early in the morning and lasts until the evening. These moths are univoltine, meaning they have only one generation per year.

Predators This species is parasitized by some species of wasps and flies, especially the Compsilura concinnata, who lay their eggs in or on the caterpillars. Other threats are squirrels, loss of habitat, and outdoor lights.

Fun Fact The cecropia moth is North America's largest native moth

(Source: Wikipedia; Iowa State University, Horticulture and Home Peat News; National Wildlife Federation; Prairie Haven; AZ Animals)

Is this where I sign up for moth of the week!?!

Yes! On Sundays, I will be posting a moth of the week! You can also look out for other types of moth-related posts in the future :]

Moth of the Week:

Rosy Maple Moth

Dryocampa rubicunda

First described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1793, this moth is part of the Saturniidae family. This family is better known as the great silk moth family. However, these moths are the smallest of the silk moths. They get their name from their preferred host plants: maple trees.

Description One difference between males and females are males have larger antennae to sense female mating pheromones. Both share pink antennas, undersides, and legs. Body and wing colors range from yellow, pink, white, and cream. As caterpillars they are green.

Female wingspan: 3.8 - 5 cm (1.5 - 2 in)

Male wingspan: 4.3 - 4.4 cm (1.25 - 1.75 in)

Diet and Habitat The rosy maple moth feeds on red maples, sugar maples, silver maples, box elder maples, and turkey oaks. The caterpillars eat the entire leaf and can even defoliate entire trees, however the damage isn’t usually permanent. Adult moths have no mouths so they do not eat. Rosy maple moths are found on the Atlantic coast of the United States and eastern Canada. Their northernmost reach includes Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. Their southernmost reach is Dade County, Florida. They extend west from eastern Texas to Minnesota. Caterpillars live in temperate forests by suburban and urban landscapes

Mating Adult moths are solitary besides mating. During the warmer months, females release pheromones at night to attract males then lay eggs 24 hours after mating. Usually females lay eggs once a season, but they can lay up to 3 times in souther regions. In these cases, rosy maple moths are polyandrous, meaning they will have multiple mating partners. Females lay eggs on the underside of the leaves of the host trees in groups of 10 to 40 eggs.

Average amount of eggs laid: 150 - 200

Predators The predators of these moths are birds like blue jays, tufted titmice, and black-capped chickadees. To prevent predation, this moth uses bright colors to trick predators into thinking it is poisonous. Additionally, the colors help the moth camouflage itself by blending in with the maple seed cases.

Fun Fact Rosy maple moths can’t hear sounds.

(Source: Wikipedia and Animal Spot)

Moth of the Week

Bogbean Buckmoth

Hemileuca maia menyanthevora

The bogbean buckmoth/bog buckmoth is part of the family Saturniidae. This moth was originally described under the Hemileuca maia complex or a group of closely related species in the genus of buck moths: Hemileuca. However, by using genomewide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), entomologists such as Julian R. Dupuis have found both Ontario and Oswego County, NY, populations of buck moths were not part of the H. maia lineage. In 2020, Pavulaan stated the bogbean buck moth may be its own species and called it Hemileuca maia menyanthevora.

Cryan & Dirig described the same taxon as species Hemileuca iroquois on April 2, 2020. The names have not yet been formally synonymized nor has one been discredited.

Description The females’ bodies are all black while the males’ are black with a red tip. Both have black/gray translucent wings. In the middle of the wings are a white band that flows from the forewings to the hindwings. Near the top edges of both wings in the white band is a gray and white eyespot. The forewing eyespot is larger than the hindwing spot.

Average forewing length: 29 mm (≈1.14 in)

Males have thicker antennae and females are slightly larger.

Adults are larger than other Hemileuca maia and the white wing bands are much larger than other H. maia

Diet and Habitat Larvae feed mainly on the plant bog buckbean, which is where they get their name. Adult moths do not feed. These moths are only found in calcareous fens where its primary host plant grows.

These moths have a limited range and are only found in ten colonies throughout the world: six located in Oswego County, NY, and four in eastern Ontario, Canada. In New York, bog buck moths can be found in wetlands sheltered by the eastern Lake Ontario dune network.

Mating Mating season begins around fall when the adult moths emerge. Female buck moths lay one large cluster of eggs on sturdy stems of a variety of plant species. The eggs overwinter and hatch the following spring. The eggs are never laid on the bog buckbean plants because they die back each year making them unable to support the eggs over winter.

Predators The eggs of the bogbean buckmoth are parasitized by the wasp Anastatus furnissi. Eggs are also preyed on by small mammals and invertebrates and may accidentally be ingested by white-tailed deer that eat the plant stems where eggs are laid. Egg predation is also observed from mites. All Hemileuca larvae have spines that can injure some vertebrate predators but do little to no to protect against parasitic flies and wasps.

Fun Fact Due to the rarity of this species, bog buck moths are considered an endangered species in New York.

(Source: Wikipedia; SLELO PRISM; New York Natural Heritage Program; Ontario.ca; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Cortland, NY; Federal Register)

@turkeygamemaster

Moth of the Week

Polyphemus Moth

Antheraea polyphemus

This moth is another member of the Saturniidae family, or the great silk moth family. The Polyphemus moth gets its name from the eyespots on its wings and the Greek myth of the cyclops Polyphemus. This species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1776.

Description Polyphemus moths come in many varying shades of brown and gray with pink, white, and black accents. These accents are called the “ante-medial” and “post-medial” lines on the forewings while the hindwings have only the “post-medial” lines. Along the lower edges of both the forewings and the hindwings, called the “outer margin,” is a large band which may vary in color based on the moth but is usually a lighter shade than the rest of the wing. Despite differences in color, all Polyphemus moths have four yellow and black eyespots, 2 on the forewings and 2 on the hindwings. The hindwings’ eyespots are more prominent than the ones on the forewings, being larger and having a thicker outline. The centers of the spots are transparent.

Average Wingspan: 15 cm (6 in)

Females have larger bodies for egg laying

Males have large antennae to detect female pheromones (type: quadripectinate, comb-like)

Diet and Habitat The larvae eat the leaves of beech trees, birch trees, oak trees, maple trees, willow trees, and a large range of other trees. Adult moths have smaller mouths and do not eat.

These moths have a very large habitat range, being found in all of continental North America, except for northern Canada, Nevada, and Arizona. The eggs are laid in deciduous hardwood forests, wetlands and orchards.

Mating When the female moths release their mating pheromones, males can fly miles to find them. Mating usually occurs at night in early summer and lasts 24 hours. Once finished, a female will lay 100 to 300 eggs, which the caterpillars will hatch from in 10 days.

Predators Polyphemus moth caterpillars, larvae, and pupae are prey to yellowjackets, ants, raccoons and squirrels. Adult moths use the owl like eyespots on their wings to scare off predators.

Fun Fact The Polyphemus moth caterpillar can eat 86,000 times its weight when it leaves its egg in a little less than two months.

(Source: Wikipedia, Animal Diversity Web, Animal Spot, and University of Florida, Entomology and Nematology Department)