"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
Double-toothed Prominent
Nerice bidentata fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7929)
Host plant: Found on elm (Ulmus sp.)
Date found: 16, Aug,, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: Also known as the stegosaurus, this species is an elm specialist. This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Tufted Bird Dropping Moth
Cerma cerintha fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9062)
Host plant: Host plant not recorded but species is known to feed on Rosaceae Family members
Date found: 16, Aug,, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: As should be obvious by the common name, the adults of this moth are bird dropping mimics. These caterpillars tunnel into soft wood at the end of the season where they overwinter as a pupa.
Promethea Silkmoth
Callosamia promethea fam. Saturniidae (Hodges#7764)
Host plant: Found on buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Date found: Sep, 2025
Location found: St. Louis County, MO
Notes: One of my notable “finds” of the season for me. This was my first look and photographs of this magnificent silkmoth species. Many thanks to Harit Kaur Bal who originally found a group of these caterpillars and to Chris Brown for inviting me over to photograph a couple of these beasts that he collected for rearing.
The following images were taken of a band of travelling slug moth caterpillars during our overnight WGNSS trip to Council Bluff Lake in mid-August of this year. Many thanks to Eva Weideman who collected these from her home hunting grounds in Franklin County, MO and brought them for us to observe and photograph.
Euclea delphinii (spiney oak slug moth)
Isochaetes beutenmuelleri (Beutenmueller’s slug moth/spun glass slug moth)
Parasa chloris (smaller parasa)
Parasa indetermina (stinging rose moth)
Red-washed Prominent
Oligocentria semirufescens fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#8012)
Host plant: Found on redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Hummingbird Clearwing
Hemaris thysbe fam. Sphingidae (Hodges#7853)
Host plant: Found on nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)
Date found: 23, Aug, 2025
Location found: Backyard of our subdivision home
Notes: From what I’ve read and my minimal experience, this species’ caterpillars spend their days on the ground in the leaf litter and only come up to their host vegetation during the night. I found this one around midnight feeding on my nannyberry.
Edit – 21-Sep-25: I brought this guy in to rear on the back porch and on 16-September, I found the adult moth flying in the cage. After cooling it down a little to take some photos, I let it go into the backyard. See photos below.
Cherry Dagger
Acronicta hasta fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9229)
Host plant: Two individuals at different instars were found at this location and date – both on black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Imperial Moth
Eacles imperialis fam. Saturniidae (Hodges#7704)
Host plant: Three individuals found at this date and location: 2-redbud (Cercis canadensis), 1-sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
The Hebrew
Polygrammate hebraeicum fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9285)
Host plant: black gum (Nyssa sylvatica)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: Common and specific names come from apparent resemblance of adult moth’s pattern to Hebrew characters. This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Radcliffe’s Dagger
Acronicta radcliffei fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9209)
Host plant: black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Date found: 16, 25, Aug, 2025
Location found: Cuivre River State Park, Lincoln County, MO; Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: The final instar pictured here is dramatically different than earlier instars.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 