CITHERONIA SEPULCRALIS
(GROTE & ROBINSON, 1865)

Citheronia sepulcralis moth courtesy of Leroy Simon .

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TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Ceratocampinae, Harris, 1841 was Citheroniinae: Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894 Genus: Citheronia, Hübner, 1819 Species: sepulcralis, Grote & Robinson, 1865

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DISTRIBUTON:

Citheronia sepulcralis, (wingspan 8.0-13.5 cm), ranges in pine forests along the entire east coast of the U.S. from Florida City, Florida, to Norway, Maine. It is generally considered rare except in coastal regions of Louisiana and Florida.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This moth flies from mid-June to late July north of the middle Atlantic states where it is single-brooded.

In more southern latitudes there are at least two broods, April to mid-June, and August to mid-September.

Larvae feed exclusively on pine, but accept a variety of domestic and imported species.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adults emerge during late morning and the smaller males are on the wing just after dark until early morning as females have a long calling period.

Pairs remain coupled until the next evening when ovipositing begins. Both sexes come in to lights readily.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS, AND PUPAE:

Yellowish eggs are deposited at the base of pine needles, either singly or in groups of 2-3. Incubation lasts 7-10 days with larvae becoming visible through transparent eggshells a day or so before emergence. First instar larvae courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Larvae (up to 11 cm long) are solitary feeders and are easily reared in captivity, being resistant to most diseases. The pupae are elongated with a broad, short cremaster.

Photo courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Listed below are primary food plant(s) and alternate food plants listed in Stephen E. Stone's Foodplants of World Saturniidae. It is hoped that this alphabetical listing followed by the common name of the foodplant will prove useful. The list is not exhaustive. Experimenting with closely related foodplants is worthwhile.

Pinus caribaea Pinus rigida Pinus strobus Pinus nigra Pinus mitis Pinus sylvestris Pinus halepensis Pinus mugo Pinus ponderosa.....

Slash pine Pitch pine Eastern white pine Austrian pine Shortleaf pine Scotch pine Aleppo pine Mugo pine Ponderosa/Yellow pine

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SATURNIIDAE OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
EUROPEAN SATURNIIDAE
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BUTTERFLIES OF PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
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