"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
Stinging Rose Caterpillar Moth
Parasa indetermina fam. Limacodidae (Hodges#4699)
Host plant: Found on sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Date found: 31 August, 2025
Location found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: One of our larger limacodids, this species caterpillars can be up to 2.5 cm long.
The following images were taken of a band of travelling slug moth caterpillars during our overnight WGNSS trip to Council Bluff Lake in mid-August of this year. Many thanks to Eva Weideman who collected these from her home hunting grounds in Franklin County, MO and brought them for us to observe and photograph.
Euclea delphinii (spiney oak slug moth)
Isochaetes beutenmuelleri (Beutenmueller’s slug moth/spun glass slug moth)
Parasa chloris (smaller parasa)
Parasa indetermina (stinging rose moth)
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.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 