"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
Harvey’s Prominent
Litodonta hydromeli fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7968)
Host plant(s): Found on gum bumelia (Sideroxylon lanuginosum)
Date(s) and location(s): 30 August, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County
Notes: Found primarily in Texas and Oklahoma, this species northeastern range limit appears to be the St. Louis area.
Wavy-lined Prominent
Cecrita biundata fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7995)
Host plant(s): not recorded
Date(s) and location(s): 30 August, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Click here to view adult of this species
Eastern White-blotched Heterocampa
Heterocampa pulverea fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7990.1)
Host plant(s): Found on red oak sp. (Quercus sp.)
Date(s) and location(s): 18 Sep, 2025 – Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: As great of a resource as Wagner’s Caterpillars of Eastern North America has been for me, I have to keep reminding myself that it was published in 2005. Taxonomists have been hard at work on a number of taxa since then, and I often struggle with how to find out whether a particular taxon has changed. It recently came to my attention that today’s species, once considered a subspecies of Heterocampa umbrata, was revised in 2021 and given specific status. The common names for these two species are confusing. H. umbrata, which is found in Florida and southeastern Georgia, keeps its name of white-blotched heterocampa, while H. pulverea, which is found throughout eastern U.S. and Canada is now called eastern white-blotched heterocampa.
Sigmoid Prominent
Clostera albosigma fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7895)
Host plant(s): Found on willow (Salix sp.)
Date(s) and location(s): 16 Sep, 2025 – Johnson’s Shut-ins State Park, Reynolds County, MO
Notes: The first of this species’ caterpillar I have seen, Pete and I found this while doing some beating on willows. This species also hosts on poplar. The sigmoid prominent can be found over most of the U.S. and Canada, but is most concentrated in the Northeastern and upper Midwest regions. At first glance, this individual looks pretty plain, but on closer inspection the colors and patterns are downright striking. From other photos I have seen, these caterpillars are quite variable in appearance.
Update: In March of 2026, the caterpillar pictured above successfully overwintered and pupated into the moth pictured below.
Drab Prominent
Misogada unicolor fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7974)
Host plant(s): sycamore (Platanus occidentalis)
Date(s) and location(s): 23, 30 Aug, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO; 27 Sep, 2025 – Caney Mountain Conservation Area, Ozark County, MO
Notes: The drab prominent is the only species in the monotypic genus Misogada. Named for the relatively plain looking adult, the caterpillar of this species in anything but drab. In addition to sycamore, this species also hosts on cottonwood.
Saddled Prominent
Cecrita guttivitta fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7994)
Host plant(s): Found on hickory (Carya sp.)
Date(s) and location(s): 30 Aug, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: A highly polyphagous species, known to feed on a wide variety of woody plants across many families.
Georgian Prominent
Paraeschra georgica fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7917)
Host plant: Found on red oak (Quercus sp.)
Date found: 30, Aug, 2025
Location found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: This is the first from a series of caterpillars I will be sharing from a new survey project that will document the caterpillars of Tyson Research Center.
Double-toothed Prominent
Nerice bidentata fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#7929)
Host plant: Found on elm (Ulmus sp.)
Date found: 16, Aug,, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: Also known as the stegosaurus, this species is an elm specialist. This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Red-humped Caterpillar Moth
Oedemasia concinna fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#8010)
Host plant: Found on redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: Shown in defensive posture with tail raised above its head. This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
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.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 
