"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
Small Necklace Moth
Hypsoropha hormos fam. Erebidae (Hodges#8528)
Host plant: eastern persimmon (Diospyros virginiana)
Date found: 02 & 09, Aug, 2025
Location found: Trail of Tears State Park, Cape Girardeau County & BK Leach Conservation Area, Lincoln County, MO
Notes: Both common and specific names (hormos – Greek for ‘a chain’) refer to the necklace-like pattern of dots across the postmedial line of the adult moth.
Splendid Radcliffe’s Dagger
Acronicta superans radcliffei fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9226)
Host plant: black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Date found: ~09, Aug, 2025
Location found: Cuivre River State Park, Lincoln County, MO
Notes: Edit 2/Jan/2026. Science is learning and correcting our mistakes when possible. There have been no confirmed collections of A. superans in MO per Heitzman’s catalogue. The larva of A. superans looks quite similar to the penultimate instar of A. radcliffei, which I now believe this larvae should be labeled as. The primary differences are that A. superans will have black snowflaking on the head, whereas A. radcliffei will have this patterning in red. Another potential option is A. hasta, but I think less likely. All three are cherry/rose specialists. That said, it would not be out of the question for A. superans to be found in Missouri. If any who may have found this post has reason to disagree with my determination, I’d appreciate hearing from you.
Saddleback
Acharia stimulea fam. Limacodidae (Hodges#4700)
Host plant: Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Date found: ~02, Aug, 2025
Location found: Trail of Tears State park, Cape Girardeau County, MO
Notes: Three caterpillars were found at this date and location. One was found on pawpaw (Asimina triloba) and two on sassafras (Sassafras albidum).
Harris’s Three-spot
Harrisimemna trisignata fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9286)
Host plant: buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)
Date found: ~16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Franklin County, MO
Click here to see the adult moth
Notes: Part spider and part bird dropping, this caterpillar is absolutely astounding. Note the empty head capsules that the caterpillar retains with each successive molt. It has been shown that these caterpillars use these to thrash at potential parasitoid wasps and flies that approach while attempting to deposit eggs on their would-be hosts.
Special thanks to Eva Wiedeman who found this individual in her neighborhood and brought it to our WGNSS fieldtrip at Council Bluff Lake. Photographing this caterpillar was a prime objective for me this season. Now I just need to find one on my own and hopefully a larger 4th instar!
Walnut Caterpillar
Datana integerrima fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7907)
Host plant: Found on white oak (Quercus alba)
Date found: 09, Aug, 2025
Location found: BK Leach Conservation Area, Lincoln County, MO
Notes: This species hosts on hickories, pecans and walnut. On this date and location I found 16 similarly sized individuals all feasting on the same small hickory tree.
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?
Giant Leopard Moth
Hypercompe scribonia fam. Erebidae (Hodges#8146)
Host plant: Found on herbaceous plant species (sp not recorded)
Date found: 05, Jul, 2025
Location found: Logger’s Lake Recreation Area, Shannon County, MO
Notes: Early instar. Later instars look much different.
In late July, Chris Brown and I enjoyed a night of blacklighting at Engelmann Woods Natural Area in Franklin County, MO. Coincidentally, this was exactly one year to the day from a blacklighting session I had here in 2024. I have also done this during July in previous years at this same location. It is interesting seeing the patterns of the same moth species as well as others that might not have shown up to the sheet on previous occasions.
Here are a few insects that I thought I would share here.
We found at least four Eudryas gata (beautiful wood nymph) resting on vegetation nearby the lighted sheet. I feel this species is perfectly named. Although the adult form is technically a bird-dropping mimic, it is still beautiful along with the caterpillar.
Marathyssa inficita (dark marathyssa).
This is a bizarre little moth that is often attracted to our lights. This species caterpillar hosts on sumac (Rhus sp.) and poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans).
Tarache aprica (exposed bird dropping moth) is a small but striking member of the Noctuidae family. The caterpillar, which I have yet to find, is also a bird dropping mimic.
Nadata gibbosa, the white-dotted prominent is a common Notodontid. We frequently find their caterpillars during our hunts on oak trees.
I have discovered that members of the Datana genus can be difficult to narrow down to species in both adult and larval forms. This moth pictured above exhibits patterns that could match D. contracta, major, and drexelii. Perhaps having this specimen collected and in-hand, the species could be determined, but not with this single photo.
The find of the night for me was two beautiful Harrisimemna trisignata (Harris’s three-spot) moths. I have seen the adults before but never managed to get a good photograph. This is probably number one on my caterpillar list to find one day.
I believe this is the forth Dynastes tityus I’ve come across and they have all been females. Maybe next time, I hold on to a female in a cage to see if she can attract a male for me.
It seems that Eacles imperialis are now a sure thing at a blacklighting event at Engelmann Woods. Usually around midnight, you can expect at least a couple to visit.
That’s all from this night. I’m looking forward to a blacklighting session with the WGNSS group this coming weekend. It should be great and I will plan on sharing what we find here.
-OZB
Gray Furcula
Furcula cinerea fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7937)
Host plant: Found on black willow (Salix nigra)
Date found: 09, Aug, 2025
Location found: BK Leach Conservation Area, Lincoln County, MO
Notes: Dark eyespots on first thoracic segment give this caterpillar the look of a potential snake.
Definite Tussock Moth
Orgyia definita fam. Erebidae (Hodges#8314)
Host plant: Found on common blackberry (Rubus allegheniensis)
Date found: 09, Aug, 2025
Location found: Cuivre River State Park, Lincoln County, MO
Notes: Found in dense populations east of the Mississippi River, this species has only a handful of records in Missouri databases such as iNaturalist and butterfliesandmoths.org. I realize that I had seen this caterpillar before, but being the amateur that I am, I though I was looking at a lightly colored or recently molted Orgyia leucostigma.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 