"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
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.
Yes! In what is likely one of the last good weekends of the 2024 season, the WGNSS Nature Photography Group headed back to Kaintuck Hollow where we found this final instar Acronicta funeralis (paddle caterpillar/funerary dagger), Noctuidae, feeding on Acer negundo (box elder). I recently shared photos of this species in one of its mid-instars.
We have maybe one or two good weekends left for this season so maybe we’ll find something else. Either way, I’m preparing my list for hopeful species to find next season.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 