Columbia silkmoth
Hyalophora columbia (S.I. Smith, 1865)
Family: Saturniidae
Subfamily: Saturniinae
Identification: Wings are dark brown to red-brown. The gray area outside the white postmedian band does not contain any red. Crescent spots on the forewings and hindwings are white, although occasionally the spots on the forewing may be reduced or absent.
Wing Span: 3 1/8 - 3 15/16 inches (8 - 10 cm).
Life History: Females lay one or two eggs at the base of larch needles, or on leaves and twigs of other host plants. Caterpillars hatch in less than two weeks and are solitary feeders. The cocoon is compact and spun close to the ground on the trunk or stem of the host plant or on nearby thick undergrowth.
Flight: One brood from May-July.
Caterpillar Hosts: In the east laricina); in addition, caterpillars in western Ontario eat pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica), speckled alder (Alnus rugosa), and white birch (Betula papyrifera). In the west: western choke cherry (Prunus demissa), bitter cherry (P. emarginata), bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata), wild roses (Rosa), willows (Salix), buffalo berry (Shepherdia argentea), Russian olive (Eleagnus angustifolius), and buckbrush (Ceanothus).
Adult Food: Adults do not feed.
Habitat: Woodland with poorly drained, boggy, acid soil; suburban gardens; and a wide variety of wooded habitats.
Range: In the east Quebec and Ontario to Michigan, northern Wisconsin, and southeastern Manitoba. In the west: Alberta and Montana south through the Rocky Mountain region to southwest Texas and into central Mexico. Comments: Glover's silkmoth, H. c. gloveri, once considered a separate species, is now treated as a subspecies of the Columbia silkmoth.
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.
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Verified Sightings
Displaying 1 - 24 of 328 verified sightings
Observation date: Jul 30, 2022
Submitted by: Wifey2mikey
Region: Sandoval County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: May 07, 2023
Observation date: Jun 21, 2022
Submitted by: Quaker state mothing
Region: Flathead County, Montana, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Oct 14, 2022
Observation date: May 31, 2017
Submitted by: lief ahlm
Region: Colfax County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: apan123
Verified date: May 30, 2022
Observation date: Apr 18, 2017
Submitted by: Arasim
Region: Santa Fe County, New Mexico, United States
Verified by: apan123
Verified date: May 30, 2022
Observation date: Aug 21, 2019
Submitted by: Styx6983
Region: Alberta, Canada
Verified by: jwileyrains
Verified date: Feb 19, 2022
Observation date: Feb 10, 2019
Submitted by: Becksinsects
Region: New Brunswick, Canada
Verified by: BarbSendelbach
Verified date: Jan 14, 2022
Observation date: Jun 17, 2021
Submitted by: CMacKenzie
Region: New Brunswick, Canada
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Jun 19, 2021
Observation date: Jun 11, 2021
Submitted by: Samantha7
Region: Coos County, New Hampshire, United States
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jun 17, 2021
Observation date: May 30, 2021
Submitted by: SonyaSB
Region: New Brunswick, Canada
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: May 30, 2021
Observation date: Jul 01, 2019
Submitted by: Todd W
Region: New Brunswick, Canada
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Mar 19, 2021
Observation date: Jun 10, 2020
Submitted by: Housed
Region: Penobscot County, Maine, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Feb 16, 2021
Observation date: Jun 10, 2020
Submitted by: Housed
Region: Penobscot County, Maine, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Feb 16, 2021
Observation date: Jun 19, 2020
Submitted by: FionaB
Region: Piscataquis County, Maine, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Feb 16, 2021
Observation date: Jun 24, 2020
Submitted by: jcarmichael
Region: Androscoggin County, Maine, United States
Verified by: Sue Gregoire
Verified date: Feb 16, 2021
Observation date: Apr 20, 2019
Submitted by: momonami
Region: Oakland County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: Mark Wheeler
Verified date: Feb 03, 2021
Observation date: Jun 18, 2020
Submitted by: yaycat
Region: Schoolcraft County, Michigan, United States
Verified by: Mark Wheeler
Verified date: Feb 02, 2021
Observation date: Jun 22, 2020
Submitted by: Lilzc
Region: McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States
Verified by: Mark Wheeler
Verified date: Dec 26, 2020
Observation date: May 28, 2019
Submitted by: Dave Rezansoff
Region: Saskatchewan, Canada
Verified by: Tom Middagh
Verified date: Dec 17, 2020
Observation date: Jun 21, 2020
Submitted by: jared taman
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jun 21, 2020
Observation date: Jun 20, 2020
Submitted by: Aibrean
Region: Ontario, Canada
Verified by: rogerdowner
Verified date: Jun 21, 2020
Observation date: Jun 04, 2020
Submitted by: Elizabeth22
Region: Cascade County, Montana, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: Jun 07, 2020
Observation date: May 20, 2020
Submitted by: Todd Johnson
Region: Carbon County, Montana, United States
Verified by: davidwdroppers
Verified date: May 20, 2020
Observation date: Jun 01, 2019
Submitted by: solson62
Region: Saskatchewan, Canada
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: May 18, 2020
Observation date: May 31, 2019
Submitted by: Garrettsmith
Region: Saskatchewan, Canada
Verified by: A_baldini
Verified date: May 18, 2020
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