Species Hemileuca eglanterina - Elegant Sheep Moth - Hodges#7744

7744

Sheep Moth, Common Sheep Moth, Western Sheep Moth

Saturnia eglanterina (Boisduval, 1852)

"Sheep Moth" comes from presence of moth in pastures where sheep graze. (1)

Wingspan 56-85 mm

Variable. Forewing usually rose-pink and orange, usually with black bands, though sometimes absent. Hindwing is orange with a similar pattern, though variable: sometimes absent, sometimes covering most of hindwing. (2)

Day-flying, reputed to fly fast and close to the ground.

Widely distributed in western North America: Rocky Mountains west to Pacific, from Southern California to southern Canada. In California found west of the crest of the Sierras, absent from San Joaquin Valley except for Sacramento Delta, found in southern California only in the mountains. (3)

Mountain Meadows

Summer

Larvae feed on trees, shrubs, esp. Rosaceae, such as rose (Rosa), Hawthorn (Crataegus), cherry (Prunus), etc. Also willow (Salix), aspen (Populus), birch (Betula).

Other Hemileuca.

Milne, pp. 774-775, fig. 571 (1)

Miller and Hammond, Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands, #232, p. 107, photos of specimen. (2)

Powell and Hogue, pp. 229-230, fig. 293, illustrate and describe H. eglanterina. (3)

Arnett and Jacques, #244 (4)