National Moth Week is July 18-26!
Moths are amazing creatures. Take photographs and share your moth sightings with us to document the moths where you live.
Cecropia silkmoth
Hyalophora cecropia (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Saturniinae
Identification: Body is red with a white collar and white bands on the abdomen. Wings are dark brown with white hairlike scales giving a frosted appearance; forewings are red at the base. Crescent spots and the area outside the postmedian line are red on all wings.
Wing Span: 4 5/16 - 5 7/8 inches (11 - 15 cm).
Life History: Females lay rows of 2-6 eggs on both sides of the leaves of small host trees or shrubs. Eggs hatch in 10-14 days. Young caterpillars feed in groups on leaves; older caterpillars are solitary. The cocoon is attached along its full length to a twig; to escape predation by rodents and birds, the cocoon is usually constructed in a dark, protected area.
Flight: One flight from March-July in most of the range; two flights in the Midwest, from May-early June and then 2 weeks later.
Caterpillar Hosts: Various trees and shrubs including box elder (Acer negundo), sugar maple (Acer saccharinum), wild cherries and plums (Prunus), apples (Malus), alder and birch (Betulaceae), dogwoods (Cornus), and willows (Salix).
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Successional habitats in many areas including urban and suburban environments.
Range: Nova Scotia and Maine south to Florida; west across southern Canada and the eastern United States to the Rocky Mountains.
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.
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 601 - 624 of 2148 verified sightings
Observation date: Apr 18, 2017
Submitted by: Shayes
Region: Louisiana, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Apr 19, 2017
Observation date: Mar 24, 2017
Submitted by: Luna-tics
Region: Wakulla County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Mar 26, 2017
Observation date: Mar 06, 2017
Submitted by: lovetofind
Region: Taylor County, Florida, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Mar 18, 2017
Observation date: Aug 25, 2015
Submitted by: a1cosmo
Region: Wayne County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: bradensing
Verified date: Mar 07, 2017
Observation date: Mar 06, 2017
Submitted by: Mstone32
Region: Texas, McLennan County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 07, 2017
Observation date: Sep 01, 2008
Submitted by: Ilse Gebhard
Region: Kalamazoo County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: bradensing
Verified date: Mar 07, 2017
Observation date: Mar 02, 2017
Submitted by: Brent Boutwell
Region: Guadalupe County, Texas, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 02, 2017
Observation date: Mar 01, 2017
Submitted by: JAKeverline
Region: Texas, Travis County, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Mar 02, 2017
Observation date: Aug 07, 2015
Submitted by: sh11
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jan 15, 2017
Observation date: Jun 29, 2015
Submitted by: sh11
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Jan 15, 2017
Observation date: Dec 28, 2014
Submitted by: mothman27
Region: Allen County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Dec 13, 2016
Observation date: Apr 20, 2016
Submitted by: lesleyjean
Region: DeKalb County, Alabama, United States
Verified by: stomlins701
Verified date: Oct 26, 2016
Observation date: Aug 13, 2016
Submitted by: jsheel
Region: Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Oct 14, 2016
Observation date: Sep 16, 2016
Submitted by: julmast
Region: Elkhart County, Indiana, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Sep 16, 2016
Observation date: Mar 17, 2015
Submitted by: gldearman
Region: Charlton County, Georgia, United States
Verified by: Mikelchap
Verified date: Sep 13, 2016
Observation date: Aug 25, 2016
Submitted by: wilnatp
Region: Minnesota, United States
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Sep 11, 2016
Observation date: Aug 09, 2016
Submitted by: CherylDiGiacomo
Region: Broome County, New York, United States
Verified by: rosslayberry
Verified date: Aug 15, 2016
Observation date: Aug 12, 2016
Submitted by: jwilkinson
Region: Howard County, Maryland, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 12, 2016
Observation date: Jun 23, 2016
Submitted by: Elyali
Region: Champaign County, Illinois, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Aug 08, 2016
Observation date: Jul 26, 2016
Submitted by: AHunne
Region: Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States
Verified by: dbruce
Verified date: Jul 28, 2016
Observation date: Jul 03, 2016
Submitted by: curtis.lehman (Kristin Coonfare)
Region: Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, United States
Verified by: curtis.lehman
Verified date: Jul 23, 2016
Observation date: Jul 20, 2016
Submitted by: SeaHag
Region: Oswego County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Jul 22, 2016
Observation date: Jul 04, 2016
Submitted by: Hilda Pomeroy
Region: Hamilton County, New York, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Jul 15, 2016
Observation date: Jun 28, 2016
Submitted by: Crazycowboy1955
Region: Calhoun County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: BAMONA
Verified date: Jul 15, 2016
- ‹ previous
- 26 of 90
- next ›