"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
What a treat I had recently! Chris Brown invited me over to photograph a male Promethea silkmoth (Cephalanthus occidentalis) that had just eclosed. This was one that he had reared from one of the caterpillars I shared here last year. This guy was super cooperative with us and was a pleasure to photograph. Thanks Chris!
Small Engrailed
Ectropis crepuscularia. fam. Geometridaae
Host plant: Not recorded
Dates found: 23 August, 2025
Locations found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: This is the sole member of its genus found north of Mexico. It’s range covers the U.S. coast to coast, including parts of Alaska and much of Canada.
Baileya Caterpillar
Baileya sp. fam. Nolidae
Host plant: Not recorded
Dates found: 30 August, 2025
Locations found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: There are four to six Baileya species found in Missouri. Although host plant preference may help to distinguish species, physical characteristics are of little help.
I’ve gotten to a point in a personal project that I can now spend some time posting more frequently here and processing some photos that have been backing up. Not that I have had a ton of success in getting significant photo opportunities the last several months.
The following are some photos of interesting insects that the WGNSS Entomology Group found on a couple trips to Missouri glades last year.
First up are a couple of moths found at a light trap we set up during a camp out at Caney Mountain Conservation Area in late September. The cool conditions were not conducive to attracting many moths, so the pickings were slim.
Next up is the fantastic Cicindelidia obsoleta vulturina (prairie tiger beetle). This species is primarily found in Texas, but there are scattered populations in Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
Finally, from a trip to Hughes Mountain Natural Area, we found a good number of Trimerotropis saxatilis (lichen grasshopper) Fam. Acrididae. These masters of camouflage utilize open, rocky areas like Missouri’s glade habitats.
Plagodis Geometer Caterpillar
Plagodis sp. fam. Geometridae
Host plant: Not recorded
Dates found: 06 September, 2025
Locations found: Babler State Park, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Plagodis larvae are well camouflaged to look like woody twigs on their host plants. Their body shape and coloration are not their only tools to use in their adaptive subterfuge. When disturbed, these twig mimics will become rigid instead of attempting to flea, often assuming this position while being handled.
Lace-capped Caterpillar
Ianassa lignicolor fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#017)
Host plant: Found on white oak (Quercus alba)
Dates found: 18 September, 2025
Locations found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: A specialist, feeding only on oaks (Quercus spp.) and birches (Betula spp.).
Virginia Creeper Sphinx
Darapsa myron fam. Sphingidae (Hodges#7885)
Host plant: Found on grape species (Vitis sp.)
Dates found: 31 August, 2025
Locations found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes:
Definite Tussock Moth
Orgyia definita fam. Erebidae (Hodges#8314)
Host plant: Found on sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Dates found: 01 September, 2025
Locations found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: This species range seems to weirdly stop in extreme eastern Missouri based on official collection records as well as online databases like iNaturalist and BAMONA. I wonder if this species might be more abundant in the state than the data suggests, mainly by the numbers I have found during the past two years.
The Brother
Raphia frater fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9193)
Host plant: black willow (Salix nigra)
Dates found: 16 September, 2025
Locations found: Johnson’s Shut-ins State Park, Reynolds County, MO
Notes: This species ranges over most of the lower 48 United States and southern Canada. It is infrequently found in Missouri.
Tonight’s caterpillars are a few nondescript species of Herpetogramma (Family Crambidae) typically referred to as webworms. Most Herpetogramma feed on grasses, but the individuals I found this year feed on dicots or ferns. These guys are leaftiers that can be found easily by looking for the leaf shelters that they tie together with silk. So far I have been unable to find known associations between these species and hosts, nor visual characteristics that help to identify these larvae to species. Please let me know if you can enlighten me.
This species was found in considerable numbers at Tyson Research Center in August and were hosting on wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia).
The next species is really special as it represents one of the very few species of Lepidoptera that feed on ferns.
This next one was found at Loggers Lake in July. We found this on an unrecorded aster in a simple folder leaf shelter.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 