Attributes of Hemileuca hera
Hera buckmoth
Hemileuca hera (Harris, 1841)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Hemileucinae
Identification: Wings are white with black markings including a black crescent-shaped cell spot on each wing. Subspecies marcata (southern Oregon and northern California) has the black markings much reduced. Subspecies magnifica (northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico, southern Colorado) is larger than the others and has darker, heavier markings.
Wing Span: 2 3/4 - 3 5/8 inches (7.1 - 9.3 cm).
Life History: Adults emerge in early morning and are day fliers, mating in late morning. Females lay eggs in rings around twigs of host plants. Eggs overwinter and hatch from April-June. Young caterpillars feed together while older ones feed alone. Fully-grown caterpillars overwinter in loose cocoons in the leaf litter or in burrows in soft soil. Adults emerge from July-September, but at high elevations and northern latitudes, the cocoons overwinter and adults emerge in the spring.
Flight:
Caterpillar Hosts: Basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and sand sagebrush (A. filifolia).
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Great Basin sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodland, and subalpine sagebrush meadows.
Range: Great Basin area from southwestern Saskatchewan west to southeastern British Columbia; south to western Colorado, central Utah, and central Nevada. Subspecies marcata is in southern Oregon and northern California, while subspecies magnifica occurs in northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and southern Colorado.
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 Hemileuca hera
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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.
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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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|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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July 27, 2012 | J_Martineau | United States | February 09, 2013 | Details |
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August 01, 2011 | grantloy | Mono County, California, United States | April 18, 2012 | Details |
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July 24, 2010 | hjbarkey9 | Routt County, Colorado, United States | February 12, 2012 | Details |
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August 17, 2007 | Tom Munson | Whitman County, Washington, United States | August 20, 2011 | Details |
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August 12, 2010 | bwaterbury | Clark County, Idaho, United States | May 03, 2011 | Details |
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August 19, 2004 | legacy.reporter (Sarah A. Bucklin) | Natrona County, Wyoming, United States | April 19, 2011 | Details |
| August 29, 2006 | Dwaine Wagoner (Dwaine Wagoner) | Niobrara County, Wyoming, United States | September 24, 2009 | Details | |
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August 25, 2009 | Dwaine Wagoner (Dwaine Wagoner) | Converse County, Wyoming, United States | September 24, 2009 | Details |
| July 25, 2009 | legacy.reporter (Maia) | Kittitas County, Washington, United States | August 21, 2009 | Details | |
| July 02, 1987 | legacy.reporter (Michael J. Smith) | Apache County, Arizona, United States | January 28, 2009 | Details | |
| June 05, 1988 | legacy.reporter (Michael J. Smith) | Coconino County, Arizona, United States | January 28, 2009 | Details | |
| August 03, 2006 | legacy.reporter (Christopher Christie) | Union County, Oregon, United States | July 18, 2007 | Details | |
| August 26, 2006 | legacy.reporter (Pauline Braymen) | Harney County, Oregon, United States | September 05, 2006 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Apache County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Coconino County, Arizona, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Alpine County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Inyo County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Lassen County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Modoc County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Mono County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Siskiyou County, California, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Delta County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Garfield County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Grand County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gunnison County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Jackson County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Moffat County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Montezuma County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Costilla County, Colorado, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Blaine County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Boise County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Camas County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Caribou County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Cassia County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Custer County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Elmore County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Franklin County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Twin Falls County, Idaho, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Gallatin County, Montana, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | McKinley County, New Mexico, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Taos County, New Mexico, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Douglas County, Nevada, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Elko County, Nevada, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Eureka County, Nevada, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Humboldt County, Nevada, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Washoe County, Nevada, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Baker County, Oregon, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details | |
| January 01, 1950 | legacy.reporter | Grant County, Oregon, United States | December 31, 2004 | Details |
