"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
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)
Red-washed Prominent
Oligocentria semirufescens fam. Notodontidae (Hodges#8012)
Host plant: Found on redbud (Cercis canadensis)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Hummingbird Clearwing
Hemaris thysbe fam. Sphingidae (Hodges#7853)
Host plant: Found on nannyberry (Viburnum lentago)
Date found: 23, Aug, 2025
Location found: Backyard of our subdivision home
Notes: From what I’ve read and my minimal experience, this species’ caterpillars spend their days on the ground in the leaf litter and only come up to their host vegetation during the night. I found this one around midnight feeding on my nannyberry.
Edit – 21-Sep-25: I brought this guy in to rear on the back porch and on 16-September, I found the adult moth flying in the cage. After cooling it down a little to take some photos, I let it go into the backyard. See photos below.
Cherry Dagger
Acronicta hasta fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9229)
Host plant: Two individuals at different instars were found at this location and date – both on black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Imperial Moth
Eacles imperialis fam. Saturniidae (Hodges#7704)
Host plant: Three individuals found at this date and location: 2-redbud (Cercis canadensis), 1-sassafras (Sassafras albidum)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
The Hebrew
Polygrammate hebraeicum fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9285)
Host plant: black gum (Nyssa sylvatica)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: Common and specific names come from apparent resemblance of adult moth’s pattern to Hebrew characters. This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Radcliffe’s Dagger
Acronicta radcliffei fam. Noctuidae (Hodges#9209)
Host plant: black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Date found: 16, 25, Aug, 2025
Location found: Cuivre River State Park, Lincoln County, MO; Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: The final instar pictured here is dramatically different than earlier instars.
Question Mark
Polygonia interrogationis fam. Nymphalidae (Hodges#4420)
Host plant: NA
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: Two individuals found at this date and location. One was found on sassafras and the other on redbud. Typical hostplants include elm and hackberry. One individual pupated in contained overnight, further suggesting that both were pre-pupal and collected on plants during wandering. This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Pandora Sphinx
Eumorpha pandorus fam. Sphingidae (Hodges#7859)
Host plant: Virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)
Date found: 16, Aug, 2025
Location found: Council Bluff Lake, Iron County, MO
Notes: During its final instar, this sphinx caterpillar loses its horn and is replaced with a button (not pictured). This was found during the WGNSS joint Entomology and Nature Photography Groups’ outing to Council Bluff Lake.
Red-spotted Purple
Limenitis arthemis astyanax fam. Nymphalidae (Hodges#4522)
Host plant: Found on black cherry (Prunus serotina)
Date found: 02, Aug, 2025
Location found: Trail of Tears State Park, Lincoln County, MO
Notes: Three caterpillars of this species were found at this date and location.
Here is another case of very similar caterpillars between two closely related species. The first clue to identity should be the host plant. In our region, Limenitis arthemis astyanax host primarily on black cherry (Prunus serotina), while Limenitis archippus (Viceroy) host primarily on willows (Salix sp.).
Caterpillars of L. arthemis astyanax are visually similar to those of , L. archippus although adults of these two species are very dissimilar. However, there are visual cues that can be used to tell them apart. Caterpillars of L. arthemis astyanax are generally less spiny, the humps over dorsum at A2 are larger and the “antlers” are more clubbed than the viceroy.
A Thousand Acres of Silphiums 