"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
Walnut Sphinx
Amorpha juglandis fam. Sphingidae (Hodges#7827)
Host plant: Found on hickory (Carya sp.)
Date found: 6, 13, September, 2025
Location found: Babler State Park, Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: This is the only species of this genus in North America.
Double-lined Prominent
Lochmaeus bilineata fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7999)
Host plant: Found on elm (Ulmus sp.)
Date found: 23, August, 2025
Location found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Technically, I should label this one as Lochmaeus sp. because L. bilineata and L. manteo (variable oakleaf caterpillar) cannot be distinguished as larvae. However, host plants are a good indicator. Lochmaeus bilineata prefers elms and basswood, while L. manteo prefers oaks. It is unclear whether reports of L. bilineata from oaks are from erroneously identified L. manteo or not.
Ailanthus Webworm Moth
Atteva aurea fam. Attevidae (Hodges#2401)
Host plant: Found on tree of heaven (Ailanthus altissima)
Date found: 30, August, 2025
Location found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: It is currently unclear whether Atteva aurea is native to the southeastern U.S. where corkwood and other members of Simaroubaceae are found and then expanded its range into Missouri following the introduction of the tree of heaven, or if it was introduced from China.
Pink-striped Oakworm Moth
Anisota virginiensis fam. Saturniidae (Hodges#7723)
Host plant: Found on white oak (Quercus alba)
Date found: 19, Sep, 2025
Location found: Don Robinson State Park, Jefferson County, MO
Notes: Photos of an early instar larvae.
Greater Oak Dagger Moth
Acronicta lobeliae fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9238)
Host plant: Found on red oak species (Quercus sp.)
Date found: 30, Aug, 2025
Location found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: This poor guy has a couple tachinid fly eggs attached. It was likely host to this parasitoid and will not make it to adulthood.
Gold Moth
Basilodes pepita fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9781)
Host plant(s): Found on wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia)
Date(s) and location(s): 13 September, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: A specialist on Verbesina species.
Humped Oakworm Moth
Symmerista sp. fam. Notodontidae
Host plant(s): Found on oak (Quercus sp.)
Date(s) and location(s): 18 September, 2025 – Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO; 27-September, 2025 – Caney Mountain Conservation Area, Ozark County, MO
Notes: Caterpillars of S. canicosta (red-humped oakworm) and S. albifrons (white-headed prominent) are indistinguishable as larvae and are so similar as adults that the only way to distinguish the two is by dissecting the genitalia. Both species are found in Missouri and both feed on the same host plants – beech, chestnut and oaks (any members of the Fagaceae).
Virginian Tiger Moth
Spilosoma virginica fam. Erebidae (Hodges#8137)
Host plant(s): Found on wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia), swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) and black willow (Silax nigra)
Date(s) and location(s): 13 September, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO; 17-September, 2025 – Little Creve Coeur Ecological Area
Notes: Also referred to as the yellow wooly bear, this species is highly polyphagous.
I can’t believe I forgot to include a photo of this wonderful flying squirrel that visited us during a blacklighting night at Engelmann Woods N.A. back in July of this year. I assume it may have been attracted to all of the moths and insects that were being drawn to our lights
Next up is a photo of a fox squirrel we encountered during the Confluence Area Christmas Bird Count on New Year’s Day. I wish we had these guys in the suburbs rather than the destructive gray bastards.
Birch Dagger Moth
Acronicta betulae fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9208)
Host plant(s): river birch (Betula nigra)
Date(s) and location(s): 15 September, 2025 – Creve Coeur Lake Park, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: A specialist, hosting only on river birch.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 