Nevada buck moth

(Hemileuca nevadensis)

Hodges #

7731

Conservation Status
IUCN Red List

not listed

NatureServe

N5 - Secure

SNR - Unranked

Minnesota

not listed

 
Nevada buck moth
Photo by Luciearl
 
Description

Nevada buck moth is a common, large, late season moth. It occurs in the United States in the southwest from California to Colorado and New Mexico, northeast to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Ohio. There is also a widely separated (disjunct) population in New Jersey. The larvae are food specialists. They feed on the leaves mostly of willows and cottonwoods, but they have also been reported on bog birch and alder. Adults are active in September and October. They do not feed.

Adults have a 2 to 2 (50 to 65 mm) wingspan. Females are larger than males. The thorax and abdomen are covered with stiff, bristle-like hairs. On the male, the abdomen is mostly black, but it is reddish orange at the tip. On the female, the abdomen is entirely black.

The finger-like sensory mouthparts (labial palps) are fused together for most of their length, then separated into two lobes at the end. However, the palps are very small. This feature can only be seen by carefully removing the hairs from that part of the head. On the male, the antennae are feather-like, with branches (rami) on two sides of most segments. The rami are long, slender, and strongly bent downward at about the middle. On the female, the rami are very short.

The forewings and hindwings are similar. On the forewings, the basal (antemedial) and postmedial areas are entirely blackish. The basal area usually does not reach the middle of the wing. The outer edge is often not sharply defined. The median area is white or creamy white, forming a highly contrasting median band. There are often pale yellow streaks in the median band visible along the veins. The outer edge of the median band is well-defined, and it is curved almost parallel to the outer margin of the wing. The median band is usually much wider than the dark postmedial area. It is as wide, or at least more than half as wide, as the median band on the hindwing. The discal spot in the median band is surrounded with dark shading. On the forewings, veins M1 and M2 are stalked together, and they are free from radial veins. On the hindwings there are two anal veins.

On the fourth segment (tibia) of the front legs there is a very obvious, long spine at the tip.

The caterpillar is up to 2 (65 mm) in length. It is black with a broad, pale yellow stripe above (dorsally), and another on each side through the breathing pores (spiracles). The spiracles are brown and ringed with black. Each thoracic and abdominal segment has two clusters of short orange bristles and four long, branched, black and white spines. The abdominal leg-like structures (prolegs) are red.

 

Size

Wingspan: 2 to 2(50 to 65 mm)

 

Similar Species

 
Habitat

 

Biology

Season

One generation per year: September and October

 

Behavior

Young caterpillars feed in groups, while older caterpillars feed alone.

 

Life Cycle

The female lays eggs in rings around twigs of a host plant. The eggs overwinter and the larvae emerge in the spring. Mature caterpillars are seen from May to August.

 

Larva Food

Willows (Salix spp.) and cottonwoods (Populus spp.)

 

Adult Food

Adults are active during the day. They do not feed. The wings are held tent-like over the back when at rest.

Distribution

Distribution Map

 

Sources

4, 21, 24, 29, 30, 75, 82, 83.

Ferguson, D. C., 1971, Moths of America North of Mexico, Fascicle 20.2a

9/24/2024    
     

Occurrence

 

Taxonomy

Order

Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths)

Superfamily

Bombycoidea (hawk, sphinx, silk, emperor, and allied moths)

Family

Saturniidae (emperor and giant silk moths)

Subfamily

Hemileucinae (buck and io moths)

Tribe

Hemileucini

Genus

Hemileuca (sheep moths)
   

Hemileuca nevadensis is a variable species. It is part of a species complex, the boundaries of which are unclear. In the future, some species may be combined, and one or more of the synonyms listed below may be separated as distinct species. If the latter happens, the northern and eastern populations, including those in Minnesota, will likely be named Hemileuca latifascia.

   

Subordinate Taxa

 

   

Synonyms

Hemileuca artemis

Hemileuca californica

Hemileuca latifascia

   

Common Names

midwestern fen buckmoth

Nevada buck moth

Nevada buckmoth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glossary

Palp

Short for pedipalp. A segmented, finger-like process of an arthropod; one is attached to each maxilla and two are attached to the labium. They function as sense organs in spiders and insects, and as weapons in scorpions. Plural: palpi or palps.

 

Proleg

A fleshy structure on the abdomen of some insect larvae that functions as a leg, but lacks the five segments of a true insect leg.

 

Spiracle

A small opening on the surface of an insect or arachnid through which it breathes.

Do Not Touch!

The spines on the caterpillar are poisonous. They will deliver a painful sting if touched.

 

 

 

 

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Luciearl

Nevada buck moth    
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Other Videos

Buck Moth - Hemileuca nevadensis - emergence
Marcie Oconnor

About

Sep 22, 2009

This male Nevada Buck Moth spent a long time finding the perfect place to pump up its wings. The whole process of finding a spot, and pumping up took over an hour.

Nevada Buck Moth (Saturniidae: Hemileuca nevadensis) Male on Road
Carl Barrentine

About

Sep 7, 2010

Photographed at the Rydell NWR, Minnesota (06 September 2010). Thank you to 'Ryan' (@Bugguide.net) for confirming the identification of this specimen!

 

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Luciearl
Summer 2023

Location: Lake Shore, MN

Nevada buck moth
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Created: 9/24/2024

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