"What a thousand acres of Silphiums looked like when they tickled the bellies of the buffalo is a question never again to be answered, and perhaps not even asked." -Aldo Leopold
Red-washed Prominent
Oligocentria semirufescens fam. Notodontidae
Host plant: Not recorded
Dates found: 14, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO
Notes: Typically feeds against midvein of leaves where it perfectly resembles necrotic or blightened leaf sections.
Retarded Dagger
Acronicta retardata fam. Noctuidae
Host plant: Found on boxelder (Acer negundo).
Dates found: 13, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: River’s Edge Park, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: This species has multiple broods each year and mature caterpillars can be found from May through October in Missouri.
Black-blotched Prominent
Oedemasia leptinoides fam. Notodontidae
Host plant: Found on hickory (Carya sp.).
Dates found: 14, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO
Notes: Recently moved from genus Schizura.
Black-blotched Prominent
Oedemasia leptinoides fam. Notodontidae
Host plant: unknown
Dates found: 24, Aug, 2024
Locations Found: Schoolcraft Prairie, Washington County, MO
Notes: Found crossing trail. Potentially pre-pupal.
Spiny Oakworm Moth
Anisota stigma fam. Saturniidae
Host plant: Found on post oak (Quercus stellata).
Dates found: 24, Aug, 2024
Locations Found: Schoolcraft Prairie, Washington County, MO
Notes: For a Saturn moth, this species is diminutive and overlooked but still quite stunning!
Hitched Arches
Melanchra adjuncta fam. Noctuidae
Host plant: Found on unrecorded herbaceous plant.
Dates found: 21, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Meramec State Park, Franklin County, MO
Notes: Both larvae and adult forms are stunning. Sarah impressively found this cat walking along trail. Its positioning and camouflage, making it look like crinkled senescing vegetation, was so effective it took me quite a while to find it even with Sarah pointing directly at it.
Clemens’ False Skeletonizer
Acoloithus falsarius fam. Zygaenidae
Host plant: Found on wild grape (Vitis. sp.)
Dates found: 24, Aug, 2024
Locations Found: Schoolcraft Prairie, Washington County, MO
Notes: Will also host on peppervine and Virginia creeper
Stinging Rose Caterpillar Moth
Parasa indetermina fam. Limacodidae
Host plant: Nearly any native woody plant in the area
Dates found: 17, Aug, 2024; 14, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO; Schoolcraft Prairie, Washington County, MO
Notes: Stings from this species are relatively minor, reminiscent of that received from wood nettle.
I ran into a large colony of one of my favorite moths back in July. The specific name of Brenthia pavonacella (fam. Choreutidae) means “little peacock.” These little ones were displaying everywhere on my hike through Kaintuck Hollow and being very cooperative for picture taking.
Black-waved Flannel Moth
Megalopyge crispata fam. Megalopygidae
Host plant: This individual was found seemingly to be feeding on a Desmodium species. To my knowledge, this species has not been documented using these as host plants and have only been reported feeding on woody plant species.
Date found: 14, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO
Notes: Caterpillars from all members of this family possess hollow poison-delivering stinging spines underneath the seemingly soft and innocuous hairlike setae. A sting from this species will be downright irritating and painful and may require a hospital visit. Wagner discusses an Amazonian relative that reaches lengths of more than 8 cm and has reportedly caused human deaths.
Shagreened Slug Moth
Apoda biguttata fam. Limacodidae
Host plant: Found on white oak (Quercus alba)
Date found: 21, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Onondaga State Park, Crawford County, MO
Notes: Named for its resemblance to the bumpy texture of shagreen rawhide.
Shagreened Slug Moth
Apoda biguttata fam. Limacodidae
Host plant: Found on red oak species (Quercus sp.)
Date found: 5, Oct, 2024
Locations Found: Daniel Boone Conservation Area, Warren County, MO
Notes: Careful examination is needed to distinguish caterpillars of Apoda biguttata, A. y-inversum, and Lithacodes fasciola.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 