Curve-lined owlet – A Thousand Acres of Silphiums

Curve-lined Owlet
Phyprosopus callitrichoides fam. Erebidae (Hodges#8525)
Host plant(s): Found on greenbrier (Smilax sp.)
Date(s) and location(s): 15 Sep, 2025 – Creve Coeur Lake Park, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: My favorite caterpillar species and one that I have not had the pleasure to find in over nine years! In all of the high-quality habitats I visit in Missouri during the late summer, I take the time to carefully investigate any greenbrier that I happen to find, always on the lookout for this magnificent creature. Imagine my surprise to find one in St. Louis County! Looking like it could have been the creation of Dr. Seuss or Tim Burton, this cat looks and behaves as though it might be a dead leaf or portion of a tendril of its greenbrier host. When disturbed, it will sway back and forth as if being simply a piece of detritus moving with the wind.

These guys are often found in brood groups. I made every effort to find others nearby but found none. I did find two large wolf spider nests very close (within inches) to the vegetation where I found this cat. Could this be why I found none of its siblings?

Here’s an old one from the Facebook archives that somehow never managed to be put on the blog. This is the caterpillar of the curved-line owlet moth (Phyprosopus callitrichoides Hodges #8525), a fantastic member of the Noctuidae and one of several “grail species” that caterpillar hunters are on the lookout for from mid-summer to early fall. This one was found on August 20, 2016 at St. Francois State Park. I have not found another of these since, but I am hopeful that I might find one this year. Wherever I visit, I am looking closely at catbriers (Smilax sp.), which are there sole hosts.

Tag: Curve-lined owlet

2025 Caterpillar Season – Curve-lined Owlet

Curved-line Owlet