Attributes of Antheraea polyphemus
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 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.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Antheraea polyphemus
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The map below displays all verified sighting records in the BAMONA database for this species. Each record is indicated with a yellow dot. The orange dots on the map provide access to information about the 200 most recently verified sightings of this species. In some instances, there are several records at the same location. Use the table view to access these records.
Instructions: Click on the map and move your mouse to pan.
Zoom by using the plus [+] and minus [-] on the left side of the map.
To change which map layers are displayed, click on the plus sign [+] on the right side of the map.
The fifty most recently verified sightings are below. See more recently verified sightings of all species.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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May 09, 2012 | nimhskp1 | Salem City County, Virginia, United States | May 16, 2012 | Details |
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May 15, 2012 | MOTHRA | Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States | May 15, 2012 | Details |
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May 12, 2012 | staff999 | Leon County, Florida, United States | May 13, 2012 | Details |
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May 13, 2012 | Erika417 | Lucas County, Ohio, United States | May 13, 2012 | Details |
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April 26, 2012 | mandyslaughter | Jackson County, Missouri, United States | May 08, 2012 | Details |
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May 08, 2012 | atandy | Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States | May 08, 2012 | Details |
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May 08, 2012 | NaomiK | Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States | May 08, 2012 | Details |
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April 30, 2012 | tami4067 | Ventura County, California, United States | May 02, 2012 | Details |
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April 19, 2012 | schollguin | Orange County, California, United States | April 30, 2012 | Details |
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April 22, 2012 | hipsh003 | San Diego County, California, United States | April 30, 2012 | Details |
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May 05, 2009 | mamalovebaby | Baltimore County, Maryland, United States | April 30, 2012 | Details |
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April 27, 2012 | bstaab | Clay County, Florida, United States | April 29, 2012 | Details |
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April 26, 2012 | ajfitz27 | Cass County, Missouri, United States | April 29, 2012 | Details |
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April 28, 2012 | fmroth | Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States | April 29, 2012 | Details |
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April 29, 2012 | TKJones | Shelby County, Tennessee, United States | April 29, 2012 | Details |
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August 11, 2010 | A Jusufi | Richmond County, New York, United States | April 28, 2012 | Details |
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April 15, 2012 | goddess | Bartow County, Georgia, United States | April 24, 2012 | Details |
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April 21, 2012 | Scandiff | Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States | April 24, 2012 | Details |
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July 04, 2011 | ahiler | Benton County, Oregon, United States | April 22, 2012 | Details |
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April 18, 2012 | tophercarey | Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States | April 22, 2012 | Details |
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March 31, 2012 | Pat Gideon | Washington County, Arkansas, United States | April 21, 2012 | Details |
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April 16, 2012 | Ron Wylie | Johnson County, Arkansas, United States | April 21, 2012 | Details |
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April 16, 2012 | rjsquire | Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States | April 18, 2012 | Details |
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April 13, 2012 | gkue | Levy County, Florida, United States | April 17, 2012 | Details |
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April 19, 2009 | Jessica Womack | Fannin County, Texas, United States | April 15, 2012 | Details |
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March 21, 2012 | necarsa rose | Le Flore County, Oklahoma, United States | April 15, 2012 | Details |
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April 04, 2012 | spence2054 | Oklahoma, United States | April 15, 2012 | Details |
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March 24, 2012 | jkopachena | Hunt County, Texas, United States | April 15, 2012 | Details |
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August 05, 2011 | Blahblahblah0925 | Wake County, North Carolina, United States | April 07, 2012 | Details |
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May 09, 2010 | mhanthony | St Marys County, Maryland, United States | April 04, 2012 | Details |
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March 30, 2012 | gbrewer2614 | Missouri, United States | April 03, 2012 | Details |
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March 29, 2012 | mtndew | Leon County, Florida, United States | March 30, 2012 | Details |
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March 16, 2012 | kalorama | Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, United States | March 27, 2012 | Details |
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March 26, 2012 | caljulsie | Fayette County, Kentucky, United States | March 26, 2012 | Details |
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March 13, 2012 | cayruss | Wakulla County, Florida, United States | March 25, 2012 | Details |
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March 21, 2012 | MoonflowerOlson0922 | Onslow County, North Carolina, United States | March 21, 2012 | Details |
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March 01, 2012 | jonie | Pierce County, Washington, United States | March 06, 2012 | Details |
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March 02, 2012 | Lilivox | Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States | March 04, 2012 | Details |
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February 23, 2012 | Linda.gmia | Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States | February 24, 2012 | Details |
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August 28, 2011 | Linda.gmia | Chesterfield County, Virginia, United States | February 24, 2012 | Details |
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February 24, 2012 | joanemac | Citrus County, Florida, United States | February 24, 2012 | Details |
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June 15, 2007 | Kaity_Bear | Yuba County, California, United States | February 01, 2012 | Details |
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June 23, 2011 | visseroth | Bonner County, Idaho, United States | January 29, 2012 | Details |
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July 08, 2011 | jazlann solomon | Bannock County, Idaho, United States | January 29, 2012 | Details |
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January 22, 2012 | suedavies28 | Osceola County, Florida, United States | January 23, 2012 | Details |
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January 08, 2012 | JimmyBlueGold | Broward County, Florida, United States | January 22, 2012 | Details |
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April 15, 2010 | Tawnya Kreft | Polk County, Oregon, United States | January 19, 2012 | Details |
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July 01, 2011 | karisdow | Izard County, Arkansas, United States | January 03, 2012 | Details |
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July 18, 2011 | karisdow | Izard County, Arkansas, United States | January 03, 2012 | Details |
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August 12, 2011 | Zack | Grant County, Arkansas, United States | January 03, 2012 | Details |
