Attributes of Callosamia promethea
Promethea silkmoth
Callosamia promethea (Drury, 1773)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Saturniinae
Identification: Males and females differ. Male body is black; wings are black with tan borders, faint tan postmedian lines, and pink near the eyespots on the forewing tips. Female wings are dark brown to reddish-brown with tan borders and well-developed tan cell spots on all wings.
Wing Span: 2 15/16 - 3 3/4 inches (7.5 - 9.5 cm).
Life History: Males seek females in the afternoon and early evening, with most mating occurring from 4 PM to sunset. At night, females lay rows of 4-10 eggs on the upperside of host plant leaves. Young caterpillars feed together while older caterpillars are solitary. Older caterpillars do not eat the leaf midvein, but cut the leaf petiole at the base so it falls to the ground, perhaps a defensive measure eliminating visual or olfactory signs of feeding. A caterpillar ready to pupate strengthens a leaf petiole with silk and then spins its cocoon inside the curled leaf. The cocoon hangs from the host plant throughout the winter.
Flight: One brood from May-July in the north, two broods from March-May and in August in the south.
Caterpillar Hosts: A broad range of plants including spicebush (Lindera benzoin), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), white ash (Fraxinus americana), lilac (Syringa vulgaris), and others.
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Deciduous woodlands.
Range: Eastern United States to the Great Plains and Maine west through southern Quebec and Wisconsin to Minnesota; south to the Florida panhandle, the Gulf coast, and east Texas.
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: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:
Images of Callosamia promethea
Click on an image to view full size and to see additional details.
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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 400 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.
By default, the fifty most recently verified sightings are below. Sort by Observation Date to see the most recent sightings, or filter the sightings by region to get a regional list.
| Observation Date | Submitter | Region |
Verified Date |
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June 15, 2013 | cdw9 | Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States | June 15, 2013 | Details |
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June 11, 2013 | savdbygrace2 | Allegany County, Maryland, United States | June 12, 2013 | Details |
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June 09, 2013 | djc5656 | Kent County, Rhode Island, United States | June 11, 2013 | Details |
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May 30, 2013 | kfisherny | Erie County, New York, United States | June 03, 2013 | Details |
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May 29, 2013 | RayBeers31 | Suffolk County, New York, United States | June 03, 2013 | Details |
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May 30, 2013 | ildikoVT | Addison County, Vermont, United States | June 03, 2013 | Details |
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May 31, 2013 | ildikoVT | Addison County, Vermont, United States | June 03, 2013 | Details |
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June 01, 2013 | ildikoVT | Addison County, Vermont, United States | June 03, 2013 | Details |
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May 30, 2013 | KellyB | Allegany County, New York, United States | June 01, 2013 | Details |
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May 27, 2013 | Nancyo | Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States | May 30, 2013 | Details |
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May 23, 2013 | bmuses | Rockland County, New York, United States | May 24, 2013 | Details |
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May 18, 2013 | lachatonne | Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States | May 19, 2013 | Details |
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May 13, 2013 | CosmicTwister | Graham County, North Carolina, United States | May 13, 2013 | Details |
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June 15, 2003 | fmgee | Ontario, Canada | April 29, 2013 | Details |
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April 16, 2013 | Corriemony | Piscataquis County, Maine, United States | April 28, 2013 | Details |
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May 15, 2012 | klavierabend | Orange County, New York, United States | March 23, 2013 | Details |
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July 16, 2009 | Ilona L. | Dane County, Wisconsin, United States | February 09, 2013 | Details |
| April 08, 2004 | curtis.lehman (Paul Dennehy) | Montour County, Pennsylvania, United States | January 26, 2013 | Details | |
| June 03, 2006 | curtis.lehman (Paul Dennehy) | Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States | January 26, 2013 | Details | |
| June 03, 2000 | curtis.lehman (Paul Dennehy) | Bedford County, Pennsylvania, United States | January 26, 2013 | Details | |
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June 06, 2010 | tjantscher | Linn County, Iowa, United States | January 14, 2013 | Details |
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June 16, 2010 | tjantscher | Linn County, Iowa, United States | January 14, 2013 | Details |
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June 09, 2012 | adelzeller | Benton County, Iowa, United States | December 29, 2012 | Details |
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June 08, 2012 | LinRandolph | Ashtabula County, Ohio, United States | December 13, 2012 | Details |
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July 24, 2011 | Ken Childs | Chester County, Tennessee, United States | November 29, 2012 | Details |
| June 01, 1994 | curtis.lehman | Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States | November 25, 2012 | Details | |
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June 27, 2012 | K3Mike | Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, United States | November 24, 2012 | Details |
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June 16, 2012 | ellenjones6 | Franklin County, New York, United States | October 19, 2012 | Details |
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August 11, 2012 | stovallf | Georgia, Telfair County, United States | September 22, 2012 | Details |
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September 12, 2012 | Liz L | Bryan County, Georgia, United States | September 22, 2012 | Details |
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July 12, 2009 | David Trently | Campbell County, Tennessee, United States | September 17, 2012 | Details |
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June 08, 2011 | rosenthal.k | Fairfax County, Virginia, United States | August 21, 2012 | Details |
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April 03, 2012 | andrew.david.white | Dawson County, Georgia, United States | August 17, 2012 | Details |
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August 04, 2012 | trek10 | Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States | August 08, 2012 | Details |
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June 29, 2012 | widget | Muskegon County, Michigan, United States | August 03, 2012 | Details |
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June 06, 2012 | rosemarie04921 | Waldo County, Maine, United States | August 02, 2012 | Details |
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July 22, 2012 | LECA | Ontario, Canada | July 23, 2012 | Details |
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July 06, 2012 | DCD621 | Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States | July 11, 2012 | Details |
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July 06, 2012 | curiouspluscamera | Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States | July 06, 2012 | Details |
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June 09, 2012 | cbalerna | New London County, Connecticut, United States | June 27, 2012 | Details |
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June 07, 2009 | Stefan Peters | Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States | June 26, 2012 | Details |
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June 18, 2012 | Susan Sawyer | Washington County, Vermont, United States | June 22, 2012 | Details |
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June 18, 2012 | franciepants | Iowa County, Wisconsin, United States | June 21, 2012 | Details |
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May 28, 2012 | zmestel | Vermont, United States | June 18, 2012 | Details |
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June 12, 2012 | npeasley | Hancock County, Maine, United States | June 13, 2012 | Details |
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June 11, 2012 | Krista in Maine | Waldo County, Maine, United States | June 12, 2012 | Details |
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June 07, 2012 | skowhegan | Somerset County, Maine, United States | June 08, 2012 | Details |
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May 27, 2012 | aarongunnar | Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States | May 31, 2012 | Details |
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May 27, 2012 | lrivera | York County, Maine, United States | May 29, 2012 | Details |
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May 26, 2012 | slemieux | Somerset County, Maine, United States | May 27, 2012 | Details |
