"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 recently shared some photos of likely forth instar azalea moth caterpillars that we found in early August. Steve and I went back to Hawn State Park in early September hoping to find some late/final instars and had some luck! To my great surprise, after returning home from one of these outings on Labor Day weekend, I found a final instar caterpillar on my backyard nannyberry (Viburnum lentago).
Final instar azalea sphinx caterpillar
Azalea Sphinx
Darapsa choerilus (Cramer, 1779) P-no. 890208
Host plant: Roseshell azalea (Rhododendron prinophyllum)
Date found(s): 4 August, 2026
Location(s) found: Hawn State Park, Ste. Genevieve County, MO
Notes: Azalea sphinx moth caterpillars can be found during the daytime clinging to the midvein on leaves of their azalea hosts. In their disturbance pose, as seen in the fourth-instar caterpillar pictured here, I found them remarkably similar in appearance and size to the green developing fruits of the azalea.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 