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.
Please donate!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America freely available. We want to express our gratitude to all who showed their support by making a contribution this year. You can donate to support this project at any time.
Advertise with us!
Do you have a product or service that you think would interest BAMONA users? If you would like to advertise on this website, contact us by email, or use the contact form and select the "Advertising" category.
Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 3904 verified sightings
Observation date: Aug 07, 2025
Submitted by: naj.pilla
Region: Berrien County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 31, 2025
Observation date: May 20, 2025
Submitted by: Ljay
Region: Thurston County, Washington, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Oct 30, 2025
Observation date: Jul 02, 2025
Submitted by: saturniidluvr
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Oct 27, 2025
Observation date: Aug 15, 2025
Submitted by: I Fox
Region: Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 27, 2025
Observation date: Apr 21, 2025
Submitted by: gdoud80
Region: San Diego County, California, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 20, 2025
Observation date: Aug 04, 2025
Submitted by: Lt1292
Region: Cloud County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 20, 2025
Observation date: Aug 02, 2025
Submitted by: Mollyb5
Region: Johnson County, Kansas, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Oct 20, 2025
Observation date: Sep 11, 2025
Submitted by: annairene
Region: Lane County, Oregon, United States
Verified by: J_Martineau
Verified date: Sep 15, 2025
Observation date: Apr 25, 1994
Submitted by: papilio1
Region: Grayson County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 10, 2025
Observation date: Aug 19, 2025
Submitted by: Candledrawn
Region: Mobile County, Alabama, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 10, 2025
Observation date: Aug 30, 2025
Submitted by: Ozark_Bill
Region: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: Ozark_Bill
Verified date: Sep 05, 2025
Observation date: Aug 23, 2025
Submitted by: pipher_rowan
Region: Calvert County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 24, 2025
Observation date: Aug 16, 2025
Submitted by: Ozark_Bill
Region: Iron County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 22, 2025
Observation date: Aug 21, 2025
Submitted by: lynette1213
Region: Allen County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 21, 2025
Observation date: Jul 09, 2025
Submitted by: FarmerFlyGirl
Region: Hillsborough County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 19, 2025
Observation date: Aug 15, 2025
Submitted by: LittleWoodSatyr
Region: Defiance County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 15, 2025
Observation date: Aug 06, 2025
Submitted by: lynette1213
Region: Allen County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 09, 2025
Observation date: Aug 02, 2025
Submitted by: rlange
Region: District of Columbia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 09, 2025
Observation date: Aug 06, 2025
Submitted by: lynette1213
Region: Allen County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 06, 2025
Observation date: Aug 03, 2025
Submitted by: Jadecochrane
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 06, 2025
Observation date: Jul 16, 2025
Submitted by: Melinda Bell
Region: Sumner County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 03, 2025
Observation date: Aug 02, 2025
Submitted by: LuisP
Region: Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Aug 03, 2025
Observation date: Jul 28, 2025
Submitted by: kseckel
Region: Hardin County, Ohio, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 01, 2025
Observation date: Jun 21, 2023
Submitted by: Michele Pollock
Region: Brown County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 27, 2025
- 1 of 163
- next ›