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Species Papaipema silphii - Silphius borer moth - Hodges#9498

reared Papaipema silphii - Papaipema silphii

Papaipema from Silphium, spent pupa - Papaipema silphii

Papaipema on Silphium, dorsal - Papaipema silphii

Papaipema on Silphium - Papaipema silphii

Papaipema on Silphium but reared in potato - Papaipema silphii

Papaipema on Compass plant - Papaipema silphii

Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Superfamily Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)

Family Noctuidae (Owlet Moths)

Subfamily Noctuinae (Cutworm or Dart Moths)

Tribe Apameini

Genus Papaipema (Borer Moths)

Species silphii ( Silphius borer moth - Hodges#9498)

Hodges Number

9498

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Papaipema silphii Bird, 1915

Phylogenetic sequence # 932511 (1)

Size

Bird (1915) reported a wingspan of 47-52 mm.

Identification

Bird (1915) original description is online and linked in the print references.

Bird (1915) described the larvae pinkish with a large, brown head, and maturing to a length of 50 mm or more.

Range

Cuthrell (2000) reported the species in Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

Moth Photographers Group map also includes Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, and West Virginia. (2)

Habitat

Papaipema silphii is found in prairie regions.

Season

The main flight period is August to October. (2)

Food

Bird (1915) listed Silphium terebinthinaceum (prairie rosinweed). Also Silphium laciniatum (Matthew Kenne and MJ Hatfield).

Life Cycle

Bird (1915) reported the larva enter the blooming stems and bore to the root system. They eat through the root and pupate in the soil.

Life Cycle images:

larva in Silphium stem, larva, pre pupa, pupa, adult

Print References

Bird, H., 1915. New species and histories in Papaipema SM. (Lepidoptera). The Canadian Entomologist, 47(4): 110.

Cuthrell, D.L. 2000. Special animal abstract for Papaipema silphii (silphium borer moth). Michigan Natural Features Inventory. Lansing, MI. PDF

Internet References

Moth Photographers Group (2)

The Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) (3)

Michigan Natural Features Inventory – complete description of species

Works Cited

1.	Annotated check list of the Noctuoidea (Insecta, Lepidoptera) of North America north of Mexico. Donald J. Lafontaine, B. Christian Schmidt. 2010. ZooKeys 40: 1–239 .

2.	North American Moth Photographers Group

3.	BOLD: The Barcode of Life Data Systems

Contributed by Maury J. Heiman on 9 October, 2013 - 4:50pm
Additional contributions by Robert Lord Zimlich, marcie oconnor
Last updated 2 October, 2015 - 9:31am

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