"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
Skiff Moth
Prolimacodes badia fam. Limacodidae (Hodges#4671)
Host plant(s): Found on chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)
Date(s) and location(s): 31 August, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: This poor cat is host to a tachinid fly larvae. A closeup image is included showing the egg as well as the larvae that has pierced the skin of the caterpillar in order to breath.
Spun Glass Slug Moth
Isochaetes beutenmuelleri fam. Limacodidae (Hodges#4675)
Host plant(s): northern red oak (Quercus rubra)
Date(s) and location(s): 23 Aug, 2025 – Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: The feathery appendages of this slug moth caterpillar do not contain urticating spines and do not sting. These dense and soft setae may act as a deterrence to potential wasp and fly parasitoids in blocking easy access to the body of the caterpillar in placing or injecting eggs.
I’m sharing three different slugs tonight. First up is arguably one of the more attractive of this group, the Crowned Slug.
Next up is the spineless, Yellow-shouldered Slug.
Last of all is the Purple-crested Slug. This is the only individual of this species I was able to find this year.
-OZB
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 