"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
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.
Red-fringed Emerald
Nemoria bistriaria fam. Geometridae
Host plant: Found on white oak (Quercus alba)
Date found: 7, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO
Notes: Although some reports suggest other host plants are used, it is likely that this species specializes on white oak.
This post is related to the rearing work I shared previously of the Orgyia leucostigma (white-marked tussock moth). During a caterpillar hunting outing with Sarah, I found what was obviously a cocoon of a tussock moth. I can’t say for certain it belonged to O. leucostigma, but it is likely. So, I photographed it in the field and brought it home, keeping it separate from the O. leucostigma cocoons that I was rearing that were collected from my yard. As time went on and the other cocoons I was rearing began producing moths, I figured something was going to be different with the one pictured below.
Checking the container on 6-October, I found this beautiful Orgichneumon calcatorius, an Ichneumonid wasp with a Holarctic range that is a parasitoid of moths in the Orgyia and Dasychira genera. After taking a few photos, I let it go in the backyard. After emerging, females of the species mate and then overwinter as adults utilizing crevices in tree bark. In the spring and summer of the following year, they look for new caterpillars to insert their eggs.
Small Necklace Moth
Hypsoropha hormos fam. Erebidae
Host plant: Found on persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
Date found: 3, Aug, 2024
Locations Found: Cuivre River State Park, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Described by one of the fathers of entomology, German lepidopterist, Jacob Hübner.
Virginia Creeper Sphinx Moth
Darapsa myron fam. Sphingidae
Host plant: Found on wild grape (Vitis sp.)
Date found: 13, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: River’s Edge Park, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Other common name is hog sphinx.
Lace-capped Caterpillar
Ianassa lignicolor fam. Notodontidae
Host plant: Oaks and other Fagaceae members
Date found: 21, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Onondaga Cave State Park, Crawford County, MO
Notes: Adult moth is named white-streaked prominent.
After record breaking rainfalls in southeastern Missouri, Casey and I headed down to visit some favorite waters in the St. Francois Mountains a couple days later. We expected a little more flow but this area drains so quickly, if you aren’t there immediately after the rains stop you won’t get to see the shut-ins and waterfalls at their peek. We were also unfortunate to have a mostly cloud-free day. Not the skies you want for shooting waters like these. But, we made the most of it – focusing our efforts near sunrise and sunset.
First up is a few from Leatherwood Creek Shut-ins.
We then headed over to the St. Francois River to see how high the water was flowing at the Einstein Dam. This dam, built in 1879, was used to provide power to a mill and other facilities surrounding a nearby quartz mine. I have seen the water rolling higher over the dam, but we still had some impressive flow.
Our final stop of the day was the cascades of Black Mountain. With light running out, we climbed a little and made the following images.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 