Lost Owlet
Ledaea perditalis fam. Erebidae (Hodges#8491)
Host plant: Found on buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Date found: 09, Aug, 2025
Location found: BK Leach Conservation Area, Lincoln County, MO
Notes: I found quite a few of these caterpillars while looking through buttonbush hoping to find Harrisimemna trisignata. I struck out on finding my target species, but was happy to find this one that I had not known about before. Of the three dozen or so individuals I came across, only a few of the largest, which I assume to be the ultimate instar, showed this bright fuchsia middorsal longitudinal band. All others were smaller and were plain green in color with no obvious lines or bands. I have noticed a propensity for buttonbush to show anthocyanin coloration in aging leaves as well as in galls produced by gall mites (Aceria cephalanthi). I suppose this coloration in the caterpillar could be something of a cryptic coloration to help blend into the leaves of a late-season buttonbush?
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 