"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
Spotted Phosphila
Phosphila miselioides fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9619)
Host plant: Found on greenbrier (Smilax sp.)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: Two species of Phosphila can be found in Missouri. This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Today’s caterpillar is one of a few amazing Noctuids that specialize on greenbrier (Smilax sp.). As fantastic as the larval stage of Phosphila miselioides (Hodges #9619) is, the adult is even better and I hope to find it one day.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 