Attributes of Hemileuca tricolor

Tricolor buckmoth
Hemileuca tricolor (Packard, 1872)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Hemileucinae
Identification: Females are larger and darker than males. Upperside of forewing is gray to brownish gray with white marginal, submedian, and postmedian bands. The submarginal area may be lighter colored than the rest of the wing. Upperside of hindwing is white in males and white to pale brown in females; females usually have a pink tint.
Wing Span: 2 1/8 - 3 1/8 inches (5.2 - 7.8 cm).
Life History: Mating begins after dark and females may begin laying eggs immediately after. Eggs are deposited in rings around twigs of the host plants, and hatch in July. Young caterpillars feed together. Before pupating fully-grown caterpillars wander around on the ground and then make loose cocoons of debris and silk in which they pupate and overwinter.
Flight: One flight from January-April.
Caterpillar Hosts: Littleleaf paloverde (Cercidium microphyllum), mesquite (Prosopis juliflora), and catclaw acacia (Acacia greggii).
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Desert thornscrub.
Range: Southern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico, south into Mexico.
Conservation: United States populations should be inventoried to determine conservation status.
NCGR: GU - Unable to assign rank due to lack of available information.
Management Needs: None reported.
Taxonomy Notes:

Images of Hemileuca tricolor

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Hemileuca tricolor - 2814_03.jpg

Hemileuca tricolor - 2814_03.jpg
Hemileuca tricolor - hemitric.jpg

Hemileuca tricolor - hemitric.jpg

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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.

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Observation Date Submitter Region Verified Datesort icon
February 02, 1999 Howard G. Byrne III (Bill Mooney & Howard Byrne) Pima County, Arizona, United States January 28, 2009 Details
February 15, 1976 legacy.reporter (Kenneth C. Hansen) Pima County, Arizona, United States January 28, 2009 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Cochise County, Arizona, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Maricopa County, Arizona, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Mohave County, Arizona, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Pima County, Arizona, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Pinal County, Arizona, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Santa Cruz County, Arizona, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Yavapai County, Arizona, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Baja California Norte, Mexico December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Baja California Sur, Mexico December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Sonora, Mexico December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Grant County, New Mexico, United States December 31, 2004 Details
January 01, 1950 legacy.reporter Otero County, New Mexico, United States December 31, 2004 Details