Polyphemus moth
Antheraea polyphemus (Cramer, 1776)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Saturniinae
Identification: Upperside is reddish to yellowish brown; forewing margin is usually lighter than the basal area; forewing submarginal line is pink, or black and pink. Clear oval eyespots are ringed with yellow, blue, and black; hindwing eyespot is separated from the basal area of the wing by a thin pink line. Underside has rust, brown, and pink markings.
Wing Span: 3 15/16 - 5 7/8 inches (10 - 15 cm).
Life History: Adults emerge from their cocoons in the late afternoon, and mating occurs the same day from late evening to early morning. Females lay eggs that evening, singly or in groups of 2 or 3 on leaves of the host plant. Newly-hatched caterpillars eat their eggshells, and caterpillars of all ages are solitary. Older caterpillars eat an entire leaf and then cut the leaf petiole at the base so it falls to the ground, perhaps a defensive measure to eliminate signs of feeding.
Flight: One brood in the north from May-July, two broods in the Ohio Valley and southward from April-May and from July-August, two broods in the California Sierra Nevada, several broods throughout most of the year in Florida, Texas, and Louisiana.
Caterpillar Hosts: A wide variety of trees and shrubs including oak (Quercus), willow (Salix), maple (Acer), and birch (Betula).
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Deciduous hardwood forests, urban areas, orchards, and wetlands.
Range: Locally common in its broad range; in Canada in province except Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island; in the United States, every state except Arizona and Nevada; and Mexico.
Conservation: Not usually required.
NCGR: G5 - Demonstrably secure globally, though it may be quite rare in parts of its range, especially at the periphery.
Management Needs: Caterpillars can be occasional pests in California plum orchards.
Comments: NULL
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 3178 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 30, 2019
Submitted by: eddielopezzzz
Region: Texas, Travis County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 09, 2019
Observation date: Aug 06, 2019
Submitted by: Bruk
Region: Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Sep 08, 2019
Observation date: Jul 13, 2018
Submitted by: Jazzejan
Region: Suffolk County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Sep 07, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: Dwaine Wagoner
Region: Niobrara County, Wyoming, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
Observation date: Sep 05, 2019
Submitted by: adamkeist
Region: Pike County, Mississippi, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 05, 2019
Observation date: Sep 03, 2019
Submitted by: Debarace
Region: Texas, Smith County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 04, 2019
Observation date: Jun 14, 2019
Submitted by: shmoth
Region: Hudson County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 02, 2019
Observation date: Jun 27, 2019
Submitted by: MacKenzie Stone...
Region: Warren County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Sep 02, 2019
Observation date: Aug 31, 2019
Submitted by: Rmckinney
Region: Pasco County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 31, 2019
Observation date: Aug 26, 2019
Submitted by: EleanorR
Region: Nova Scotia, Canada
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Aug 29, 2019
Observation date: Aug 27, 2019
Submitted by: netclimbers
Region: Porter County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 27, 2019
Observation date: Aug 27, 2019
Submitted by: Evacek
Region: Ogle County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 27, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: TaaffeC
Region: Coos County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 26, 2019
Observation date: Aug 25, 2019
Submitted by: animal speak
Region: Stevens County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Aug 26, 2019
Observation date: Aug 22, 2019
Submitted by: jrtindall
Region: Mercer County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 23, 2019
Observation date: Aug 22, 2019
Submitted by: Gmksu
Region: Riley County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 23, 2019
Observation date: Aug 22, 2019
Submitted by: plawryniuk
Region: Newport News, Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 22, 2019
Observation date: Aug 22, 2019
Submitted by: ships333
Region: Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 22, 2019
Observation date: Aug 21, 2019
Submitted by: LauraVillarreal
Region: Collin County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 21, 2019
Observation date: Aug 05, 2019
Submitted by: Les in Ohio
Region: Guernsey County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 21, 2019
Observation date: Aug 18, 2019
Submitted by: hackberry
Region: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 19, 2019
Observation date: Aug 17, 2019
Submitted by: JMJaskula
Region: Boone County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: Howell_Curtis
Verified date: Aug 17, 2019
Observation date: Aug 10, 2019
Submitted by: pantos
Region: Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 15, 2019
Observation date: Aug 14, 2019
Submitted by: edotlugo
Region: Harris County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Aug 15, 2019
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