Promethea silkmoth
Callosamia promethea (Drury, 1773)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Saturniinae
Identification: Males and females differ. Male body is black; wings are black with tan borders, faint tan postmedian lines, and pink near the eyespots on the forewing tips. Female wings are dark brown to reddish-brown with tan borders and well-developed tan cell spots on all wings.
Wing Span: 2 15/16 - 3 3/4 inches (7.5 - 9.5 cm).
Life History: Males seek females in the afternoon and early evening, with most mating occurring from 4 PM to sunset. At night, females lay rows of 4-10 eggs on the upperside of host plant leaves. Young caterpillars feed together while older caterpillars are solitary. Older caterpillars do not eat the leaf midvein, but cut the leaf petiole at the base so it falls to the ground, perhaps a defensive measure eliminating visual or olfactory signs of feeding. A caterpillar ready to pupate strengthens a leaf petiole with silk and then spins its cocoon inside the curled leaf. The cocoon hangs from the host plant throughout the winter.
Flight: One brood from May-July in the north, two broods from March-May and in August in the south.
Caterpillar Hosts: A broad range of plants including spicebush (Lindera benzoin), sassafras (Sassafras albidum), tulip tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), sweetbay (Magnolia virginiana), white ash (Fraxinus americana), lilac (Syringa vulgaris), and others.
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Deciduous woodlands.
Range: Eastern United States to the Great Plains and Maine west through southern Quebec and Wisconsin to Minnesota; south to the Florida panhandle, the Gulf coast, and east Texas.
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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Verified Sightings
Displaying 385 - 408 of 869 verified sightings
Observation date: Jun 10, 2014
Submitted by: matthew300
Region: Chautauqua County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Dec 10, 2014
Observation date: Jun 05, 2014
Submitted by: Barbara1123
Region: Cortland County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Dec 09, 2014
Observation date: Jun 05, 2014
Submitted by: MartinL
Region: Sullivan County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Dec 08, 2014
Observation date: Jun 10, 2014
Submitted by: Sue Gregoire
Region: Schuyler County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Dec 07, 2014
Observation date: Jun 01, 2014
Submitted by: Arianna
Region: Columbia County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Dec 02, 2014
Observation date: Apr 06, 2014
Submitted by: tlahut
Region: Rensselaer County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Dec 01, 2014
Observation date: May 22, 2012
Submitted by: franpope
Region: Garrett County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Nov 25, 2014
Observation date: May 22, 2012
Submitted by: franpope
Region: Garrett County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Nov 25, 2014
Observation date: Sep 09, 2014
Submitted by: Craig Kittendorf
Region: Wakulla County, Florida, United States
Verified by: John Calhoun
Verified date: Nov 21, 2014
Observation date: Aug 16, 2014
Submitted by: rccmd
Region: Wolfe County, Kentucky, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 20, 2014
Observation date: Jul 20, 2014
Submitted by: ilsa_jule
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: Lula Field
Verified date: Sep 03, 2014
Observation date: Jul 12, 2014
Submitted by: kbking
Region: Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: Lula Field
Verified date: Jul 29, 2014
Observation date: Jul 08, 2014
Submitted by: edenny
Region: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States
Verified by: Lula Field
Verified date: Jul 28, 2014
Observation date: Jul 06, 2014
Submitted by: nedeweese
Region: Lake County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Jul 25, 2014
Observation date: Jun 24, 2014
Submitted by: Kevin C Slater Sr
Region: Elkhart County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 22, 2014
Observation date: Jun 08, 2014
Submitted by: soluslupus13
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 21, 2014
Observation date: Jul 20, 2014
Submitted by: wenchlori
Region: Greene County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 21, 2014
Observation date: Jul 06, 2014
Submitted by: W. Mattson
Region: St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Jul 17, 2014
Observation date: Jun 29, 2014
Submitted by: Shane Miller
Region: Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 15, 2014
Observation date: Jun 16, 2014
Submitted by: John Schwartz
Region: Kane County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 15, 2014
Observation date: Jun 23, 2014
Submitted by: East7007
Region: Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jul 13, 2014
Observation date: Jul 05, 2014
Submitted by: jsitas
Region: Bradford County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 06, 2014
Observation date: May 20, 2014
Submitted by: Rangertsp
Region: Dickson County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: Ken Childs
Verified date: Jul 04, 2014
Observation date: Jun 29, 2014
Submitted by: gbrand60
Region: Morris County, New Jersey, United States
Verified by: Ryan St Laurent
Verified date: Jul 02, 2014
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