Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

Tuliptree silkmoth
Callosamia angulifera (Walker, 1855)


Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Saturniinae
Identification: Males and females differ. Male upperside is brown with angular white cell spots on all wings and much contrast between the basal and outer portions of the wings. Underside has a very light pink band to the outside of the postmedian line. Female upperside is yellowish brown; angular white cell spots are largest on the forewings. Underside of hindwing has mahogany red at its darkest part. Both sexes of the summer brood are darker.
Wing Span: 3 1/8 - 4 5/16 inches (8 - 11 cm).
Life History: Mating occurs between dusk and midnight, with most activity around 10 PM. Females lay eggs at dusk the following evening, in rows of 4-10 on tulip trees. Eggs hatch in one week and the young caterpillars feed in groups. Older caterpillars are solitary and do not eat the main vein of the leaf. Dark brown cocoons are spun in a curled leaf which falls to the ground.
Flight: One brood from June-August in the north, two broods from March-April and in August in the south.
Caterpillar Hosts: Yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera) in the magnolia family.
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Deciduous woodlands.
Range: Massachusetts east through central New York, southern Ontario, and southern Michigan to central Illinois; south to the Florida panhandle and Mississippi.
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.
Comments: NULL
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