"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
Luna Moth
Actias luna (Linnaeus, 1758) P-no. 890072
Host plant: Found on pawpaw (Asimina triloba)
Date found: 28 June, 2026
Location found: Pinewoods Lake Recreation Area, Carter County, MO
Notes: While the adult luna moth does not feed at all, the larvae are highly polyphagous. The recorded hosts are plants in 18 families, utilizing mostly woody species.
I typically don’t have very much luck finding caterpillars of the giant silk moths from the Saturnidae family. This past season was a little more successful. I found three polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus) caterpillars and Sarah found the above luna moth caterpillar during our birthday hunting trip in mid-September. Larvae of these two species look very similar, but there are a few easy characteristics than can be used to distinguish between the two.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 