font settings and languages

Font Size: Large | Normal | Small
Font Face: Verdana | Geneva | Georgia
Languages:

Hemileuca slosseri

(Slosser's Buckmoth)

Overview

[ Back to top ]

Vulnerable
Threat status

Common Names

[ Back to top ]

Common Names in English:

Slosser's Buckmoth

Description

[ Back to top ]

Family Saturniidae

'The Saturniidae are members of the Superfamily Bombycoidea . These species are medium to very large in size, and this family includes the largest moths in North America. Adults have a wingspan of 3 to 15 centimeters, relatively small heads , and densely hairy bodies. Larvae are usually very fleshy , with clumps of raised bristles . Buck moth and Io moth caterpillars have sharp, stinging hairs . Caterpillars mostly feed on leaves of trees and shrubs ; some cause severe damage. Pupa develop in silken cocoons or in the soil. This family does not contain the commercial silkworm moth (Bombyx mori), which is not native to North America.

'[1]

Subfamily Hemileucinae

The buck and io moths are members of the Family Saturniidae. Adults of these species have wingspans of 4.5 to 8 cm, hairy bodies, and relatively small heads . Caterpillars have sharp, stinging hairs , and feed on leaves of trees and shrubs . Some buck and io moths pupate in a well-built silken cocoon .[2]

Physical Description

Species Hemileuca slosseri

Male abdomen is black with a red tip , female abdomen is black and may have red bands , but not a red tip. Wings are translucent . Upperside of wings is gray with narrow black borders and black wing bases . Each wing has a wide white band and a small eyespot. (ref. 106130)

Color:

Male abdomen is black with a red tip , female abdomen is black and may have red bands , but not a red tip. Wings are translucent . Upperside of wings is gray with narrow black borders and black wing bases . Each wing has a wide white band and a small eyespot.

Size/Age/Growth

Wing span : 2 1/2 - 3 5/16 inches (6.4 - 8.4 cm).

Habitat

Rolling sand plains .

Biome: Terrestrial

Biology

[ Back to top ]

Diet

Caterpillar hosts: Oaks (Quercus). Adult food: Adults do not feed .

Reproduction

Adults emerge in early morning and mate between mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Females lay eggs in rings around host twigs in the late afternoon. The eggs overwinter and hatch in April, and caterpillars feed together 1-2 feet off the ground . Fully-grown caterpillars spin loose cocoons in leaf litter under the host. Most of these will emerge as adults in the fall , but some may delay emergence for up to 2 years.

Behavior

Flight: One brood. Most flight records are from November.

Taxonomy

[ Back to top ]

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Similar Species

[ Back to top ]

Members of the genus Hemileuca

There are approximately 79 species in this genus:

H. annulata · H. arizonensis · H. artemis (Hemileuca Artemis) · H. bifasciata · H. boisduvali · H. burnsi (Burns' Buckmoth) · H. californica · H. chinatiensis (Chinati Sheepmoth) · H. chrysocarena · H. clio · H. conjuncta · H. conwayae (Hemileuca Conwayae) · H. denudata · H. diana (Hemileuca Diana) · H. dukinfieldi · H. dyari · H. eglanteriae · H. eglanterina (Elegant Sheep Moth) · H. electra (Electra Buckmoth) · H. griesea · H. griffini (Griffin's Sheepmoth) · H. grotei (Grote's Buckmoth) · H. grotei diana · H. grotei grotei · H. gunderi · H. harrisi · H. haulapai · H. hera (Hera Buckmoth) · H. hera magnifica (Magnificent Sheepmoth) · H. hualapai (Hualapai Buckmoth) · H. ilmae · H. juno (Juno Buck Moth) · H. lares · H. latifascia · H. lex · H. lintneri · H. lucina (New England Buck Moth) · H. lutea · H. magnifica · H. maia (Eastern Buckmoth) · H. maia maia (The Buckmoth) · H. maia peigleri (Texas Buckmoth) · H. mania · H. marcata · H. marcellaria · H. marillia · H. mexicana · H. minette · H. neumoegeni (Neumoegen's Buckmoth) · H. nevadensis (Nevada Buckmoth) · H. nigrovenosa · H. nitria · H. norba · H. normalis · H. numa · H. nutalli · H. nuttalli (Nuttall's Sheepmoth) · H. obsoleta · H. oliviae (Range Caterpillar Moth) · H. packardi · H. paradoxa · H. peigleri (Hemileuca Peigleri) · H. pica · H. proserpina · H. rickseckeri · H. rubridorsa · H. shataensis · H. slosseri (Slosser's Buckmoth) · H. sororius · H. stonei (Stone's Buckmoth) · H. strigosa · H. suffusa · H. tricolor (Tricolor Buckmoth) · H. uniformis · H. venosa · H. venosa nigra · H. washingtonensis · H. watsoni · H. yavapai

More Info

[ Back to top ]

Notes

[ Back to top ]

Contributors

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. http://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/taxonomy?f=29&sci=Saturniidae&com=Wild Silk Moths [back]
  2. http://bugguide.net/index.php?q=search&keys=Coloradia&search=Search [back]
Last Revised: 2009-04-24