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.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 289 - 312 of 3949 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 20, 2018
Submitted by: RLS
Region: Windsor County, Vermont, United States
Verified by: Tom Clark
Verified date: Oct 04, 2022
Observation date: Aug 16, 2021
Submitted by: LonnieMiller
Region: Pettis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 24, 2022
Observation date: Sep 07, 2022
Submitted by: EG
Region: Ellis County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Sep 22, 2022
Observation date: Jul 23, 2020
Submitted by: AmyPerry
Region: Jackson County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: May 26, 2020
Submitted by: dlsteph3
Region: Lewis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: May 14, 2020
Submitted by: DonnaAnn
Region: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: May 26, 2020
Submitted by: dlsteph3
Region: Lewis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: May 07, 2019
Submitted by: RobertaD
Region: Franklin County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Jun 12, 2019
Submitted by: janicelnorris
Region: Jackson County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Jul 18, 2018
Submitted by: Jenny2dogged
Region: Clay County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 17, 2022
Observation date: Sep 02, 2017
Submitted by: Dre0613
Region: Boone County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: May 08, 2017
Submitted by: jonathanfspencer
Region: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 16, 2022
Observation date: May 09, 2016
Submitted by: llohagen
Region: St. Louis County, Missouri, United States
Verified by: jamesdurbin
Verified date: Sep 15, 2022
Observation date: Jul 12, 2019
Submitted by: Nagol1000
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 14, 2022
Observation date: Aug 28, 2022
Submitted by: M.pittillo
Region: Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 11, 2022
Observation date: Jun 22, 2022
Submitted by: warfrat
Region: British Columbia, Canada
Verified by: Paul Prappas
Verified date: Sep 07, 2022
Observation date: Jun 24, 2022
Submitted by: Youngfox
Region: Boulder County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: charleseharp
Verified date: Sep 04, 2022
Observation date: Jun 27, 2022
Submitted by: gregarmstrong
Region: Ouray County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: charleseharp
Verified date: Sep 04, 2022
Observation date: Jun 27, 2022
Submitted by: gregarmstrong
Region: Ouray County, Colorado, United States
Verified by: charleseharp
Verified date: Sep 04, 2022
Observation date: Sep 03, 2022
Submitted by: Eddie Wyatt
Region: York County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Sep 04, 2022
Observation date: Sep 30, 2019
Submitted by: HGPeace5809
Region: Owen County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: CA Ivy
Verified date: Sep 01, 2022
Observation date: Aug 29, 2022
Submitted by: John LeBlanc
Region: Nash County, North Carolina, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 30, 2022
Observation date: Aug 28, 2022
Submitted by: Honeyfox
Region: Marion County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Aug 28, 2022
Observation date: Aug 21, 2022
Submitted by: BugZooMom@2022
Region: Virginia, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 25, 2022
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