"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
Ailanthus Webworm
Atteva aurea fam. Attevidae
Host plant: Leitneria floridana (corkwood)
Dates found: 14, Jul, 2024
Locations Found: Shaw Nature Reserve, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Originally native to southern Florida and other neotropical countries where it hosted on members of the Simaroubaceae. It has expanded its range following the introduction and escape of the invasive Chinese tree-of-heaven, Ailanthus altissima, which is the most common host for this species in Missouri.
Here’s another set from the bowels of Facebook that I neglected to put on the blog for some reason. These were taken in 2018 at Pickle Springs Natural Area where Casey and I found this fantastic insect.
The long-tailed giant ichneumonid (Megarhyssa macrurus) is our region’s largest ichneumonid wasp. This species is a parasitoid and its sole host is the pigeon horntail (Tremex columba, fam. Symphyta) that bores tunnels into decaying hardwood species. The long-tailed giant ichneumonid uses its keen senses to find the host and then uses its long ovipositor to drill into the tunnel where it lays an egg and injects venom to paralyze the horntail. This species does not sting.
Crowned Slug Moth
Isa textula fam. Limacodidae
Host plant: Found on sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Dates found: 5, Oct, 2024
Locations Found: Daniel Boone Conservation Area, Warren County, MO
Notes: I was getting a bit tired of simply shooting slug moth caterpillars from the typical overhead viewpoint that is often seen with these “flatter” species. In this image I used the Canon TS-E 90mm f/2.8L macro lens along with a 36mm extension tube. This allowed me to change the plane of focus in order to get the entire animal with acceptable depth of field despite the angle I shot it with and get the magnification and detail I wanted. It isn’t necessarily the most pleasing image compositionally, but I have used this approach with several slow moving slug moth caterpillars this season and I am liking this technique.
Red-washed Prominent
Oligocentria semirufescens fam. Notodontidae
Host plant: Not recorded
Dates found: 14, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO
Notes: Typically feeds against midvein of leaves where it perfectly resembles necrotic or blightened leaf sections.
Black-blotched Prominent
Oedemasia leptinoides fam. Notodontidae
Host plant: Found on hickory (Carya sp.).
Dates found: 14, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO
Notes: Recently moved from genus Schizura.
Black-blotched Prominent
Oedemasia leptinoides fam. Notodontidae
Host plant: unknown
Dates found: 24, Aug, 2024
Locations Found: Schoolcraft Prairie, Washington County, MO
Notes: Found crossing trail. Potentially pre-pupal.
Spiny Oakworm Moth
Anisota stigma fam. Saturniidae
Host plant: Found on post oak (Quercus stellata).
Dates found: 24, Aug, 2024
Locations Found: Schoolcraft Prairie, Washington County, MO
Notes: For a Saturn moth, this species is diminutive and overlooked but still quite stunning!
Hitched Arches
Melanchra adjuncta fam. Noctuidae
Host plant: Found on unrecorded herbaceous plant.
Dates found: 21, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Meramec State Park, Franklin County, MO
Notes: Both larvae and adult forms are stunning. Sarah impressively found this cat walking along trail. Its positioning and camouflage, making it look like crinkled senescing vegetation, was so effective it took me quite a while to find it even with Sarah pointing directly at it.
Stinging Rose Caterpillar Moth
Parasa indetermina fam. Limacodidae
Host plant: Nearly any native woody plant in the area
Dates found: 17, Aug, 2024; 14, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO; Schoolcraft Prairie, Washington County, MO
Notes: Stings from this species are relatively minor, reminiscent of that received from wood nettle.
Red-fringed Emerald
Nemoria bistriaria fam. Geometridae
Host plant: Found on white oak (Quercus alba)
Date found: 7, Sep, 2024
Locations Found: Kaintuck Hollow, Phelps County, MO
Notes: Although some reports suggest other host plants are used, it is likely that this species specializes on white oak.
This post is related to the rearing work I shared previously of the Orgyia leucostigma (white-marked tussock moth). During a caterpillar hunting outing with Sarah, I found what was obviously a cocoon of a tussock moth. I can’t say for certain it belonged to O. leucostigma, but it is likely. So, I photographed it in the field and brought it home, keeping it separate from the O. leucostigma cocoons that I was rearing that were collected from my yard. As time went on and the other cocoons I was rearing began producing moths, I figured something was going to be different with the one pictured below.
Checking the container on 6-October, I found this beautiful Orgichneumon calcatorius, an Ichneumonid wasp with a Holarctic range that is a parasitoid of moths in the Orgyia and Dasychira genera. After taking a few photos, I let it go in the backyard. After emerging, females of the species mate and then overwinter as adults utilizing crevices in tree bark. In the spring and summer of the following year, they look for new caterpillars to insert their eggs.
