Tag: Tyson Research Center

2026 Caterpillar Season – Silver-spotted Skipper

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Silver-spotted Skipper
Epargyreus clarus (Crammer, 1755), fam. Hesperiidae, P-no. 70044
Host plants: Hosts on members of the Fabaceae, including Amporpha, Desmodium, Robinia, and Gleditsia.
Date found(s): September 6, 2026
Location(s) found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Here is a lepidopteran even most novice naturalists are familiar with. This is a common and large skipper that is easily identified by the white-silver spots located on the ventral side of the hind wings. This species is often found in backyard gardens and even in urban areas. Caterpillars of this species are best found by looking for leaf tents they build among the foliage of false indigo, wisteria, or other Fabaceae species.

And Now for Something COMPLETELY different

Hymenoptera, insects, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

I figure any regular viewers of this blog may be getting a little tired of all the caterpillar posts. So, to mix things up a great deal, today’s post is an image of a larval elm sawfly (Cimbex americanus) that I photographed in late May at Tyson Research Center in St. Louis County, MO. Despite looking very much like a caterpillar, I assure you it is not. The sawflies, also known as horntails and wood wasps, are an old lineage (first appearing in fossil records roughly 250 million years ago) within the order Hymenoptera (bees and wasps). The larvae can be distinguished from caterpillars by possessing extra sets of prolegs (six pairs or more). Caterpillars have five or fewer pairs of prolegs. The prolegs of sawflies also lack crochets—the hooklike structures found on the ends of caterpillar prolegs.

The elm sawfly is the largest sawfly in North America. The animal pictured here was very close to two inches long. Accordingly, the elm sawfly adults are large as well, with black, white and red markings making it look very much like an intimidating wasp. No worries there, however, as sawflies do not possess a stinger.

A giant elm sawfly larva. Note the crochetless prolegs. Four pairs of prolegs are visible in this image, but three other pairs can be found in the posterior portion of its body.

2026 Caterpillar Season – Lace-capped Caterpillar

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Lace-capped Caterpillar (White-streaked Prominent)
Ianassa lignicolor (Walker, 1855), fam. Notodontidae, P-no. 930106.7
Host plants: Primarily oaks (Quercus spp.).
Date found(s): August 29, 2026
Location(s) found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: For decades, this moth was known as Oligocentria lignicolor. However, recent genomic research revealed that it was more closely related to the genus Ianassa. This taxonomic revision is a great example of how modern DNA sequencing is proving that species which look similar (like Oligocentria) are not always the closest relatives.

2026 Caterpillar Season – Spotted Apatelodes

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Spotted Apatelodes
Apatelodes torrefacta (J.E. Smith, 1797), fam. Apatelodidae, P-no. 890001
Host plants: Highly polyphagous. Documented feeding primarily on woody species in 18 plant families. I have found these most often on redbud (Cercis canadensis), black cherry (Prunus serotina), and sassafras (Sassafras albidum).
Date found(s): August 22; September 6, 2026
Location(s) found: Meramec State Park, Franklin County, MO; Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Large, covered in long setae with long, black middorsal “lashes.” Shorter urticating setae are found underneath that can deliver stings. Come in two “flavors:” lemon chiffon, or frosty white. Also look for the diagnostic red abdominal prolegs. This species shows up regularly on late summer or early autumn caterpillar hunts. This is likely due to their large size, bright color, and the habit of resting conspicuously on the leaves on which they feed.

2026 Caterpillar Season – Dusky Groundling

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Dusky Groundling
Condica vecors (Guenée, 1852), fam. Noctuidae, P-no. 931995
Host plants: Hosts on a variety of Asteraceae family members, seemingly especially fond of boneset (Eupatorium spp.).
Date found(s): September 7, 2026
Location(s) found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: Caterpillars of this species spend their days blending in on the undersides of their host leaves. They are much more active and more easily found feeding at night.

2026 Caterpillar Season – Luna Moth

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Luna Moth
Actias luna (Linnaeus, 1758), fam. Saturniidae, P-no. 890072
Host plants: Highly polyphagous. The recorded hosts are plants in 18 families, utilizing mostly woody species.
Date found(s): August 26, September 3, 2026
Location(s) found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO; Ste Genevieve County, MO
Notes: Perhaps the most beautiful and certainly among the most well-known adult moths in Missouri, the luna caterpillars are no ugly ducklings either. These caterpillars are voracious eaters, usually staying on their hatch tree until it is time to pupate. Like all our saturniids, the adult luna lacks mouth parts and does not eat. Their time as adults is short, living 7-10 days.

2026 Caterpillar Season – Trumpet Creeper Sphinx

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Trumpet Creeper Sphinx
Paratrea plebeja (Fabricius, 1777), fam. Sphingidae, P-no. 890110
Host plants: Primarily feeds on trumpet vine (Campsis radicans). Also reported hosting on Oleaceae, Passifloraceae, and Solanaceae, although these are likely seldom used.
Date found(s): September, 2026
Location(s) found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County; Franklin County, MO
Notes: Trumpet creeper vines are heavily targeted by birds and predatory wasps during the day. To survive, the trumpet vine sphinx caterpillar utilizes a clever defensive routine. During daylight hours, the caterpillar shifts to the underside of the plant’s woody stems, pressing its body flat against the bark to become practically invisible. Only when darkness falls does it crawl out onto the leaves to feed safely under the cover of night. Here is another reason to get out after dark to find a greater diversity of caterpillars!

The Trumpet Creeper Sphinx comes in two primary color phases. The green phase, like the poor heavily parasitized individual pictured here (found at Tyson Research Center), and a less commonly found brown phase, pictured here and found by Eva Wiedeman in Franklin County, MO.

2026 Caterpillar Season – Polyphemus Moth

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Polyphemus Moth
Antheraea polyphemus (Crammer, 1777), fam. Saturniidae, P-no. 890070
Host plants: Highly polyphagous. The recorded hosts are plants in 25 families, utilizing mostly woody species.
Date found(s): July-August, 2026
Location(s) found: St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve Counties, MO
Notes: One of the more commonly found of the large saturniid caterpillars during my searches. At first glance, these caterpillars look like those of the luna moth (Actius luna). However, a few easily remembered characteristics can be used to discern these two species: 1) the head capsule of the polyphemus is textured with long setae that give it a bearded appearance, while the luna head capsule is relatively smooth; 2) luna caterpillars have a yellow subspiracular stripe that is absent in the polyphemus; 3) the transverse lines that are found on the abdominal segments of the polyphemus caterpillar run roughly through the spiracle, whereas these lines seem to separate the segments in the luna.

2026 Caterpillar Season – Elm Sphinx

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, WGNSS Field Trips, wildlife, wildlife photography

Elm Sphinx (Four-horned Sphinx)
Ceratomia amyntor (Geyer, 1835) P-no. 890102
Host plant: Found on American elm (Ulmus americana)
Date found(s): July–August, 2026
Location(s) found: Carter County, MO, Ste. Genevieve County, MO; St. Louis County, MO
Notes: An excellent example of camouflage. The four thoracic horns aptly mimic the teeth on the margins of the leaves on which they feed. These larva spend most of their time hiding upside-down on the undersides of elm leaves. The pale, oblique lines leading from the stomata to the mid-dorsal line let them blend in with elm leaves that feature prominent pinnate venation on their undersides (see photo).

2026 Caterpillar Season – Clover Looper

2026 Caterpillar Season, Caterpillars of Tyson Research Center, insects, Lepidoptera, macro, wildlife, wildlife photography

Clover Looper
Caenurgina crassiuscula (Haworth, 1809) P-no. 930923, fam. Erebidae
Host plant(s): Unidentified herbaceous legume
Date(s) found: 24 May, 2026
Locations found: Tyson Research Center, St. Louis County, MO
Notes: The clover looper larvae is indistinguishable from Caenurgina crassiuscula (forage looper), and even adults can only be distinguished by close inspection of genitalia.