Hemileuca nuttalli

Hemileuca nuttalli, or Nuttall's sheep moth, is a moth in the family Saturniidae. It is found from south-eastern British Columbia to eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, north-eastern California, Idaho, Nevada, northern Arizona, Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and north-western New Mexico. The species was first described by Ferdinand Heinrich Hermann Strecker in 1875 under the name Pseudohazis nuttalli.[2]

Nuttall's sheep moth
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Hemileuca
Species:
H. nuttalli
Binomial name
Hemileuca nuttalli
(Strecker, 1875)[1]
Synonyms
  • Pseudohazis nuttalli Strecker, 1875
  • Pseudohazis arizonensis Strecker, 1878
  • Pseudohazis washingtonensis Medlar, 1944
  • Pseudohazis nuttalli uniformis Cockerell, 1914

Identification

The wingspan is 60–65 mm.[3] The forewings are yellowish on the bottom, gradually morphing into white on the top. The veins are black at the tips and there is a black eyespot on each wing with a white center. The hindwings are yellow orange with black-tipped veins and a thick black stripe that curves through the middle of the wing, up through the forewings. There is a small black eyespot in the middle of each wing. The body is yellow orange.

Life history

The eggs are laid in rings around small twigs of the host plant. The larvae have been recorded feeding on Purshia tridentata, Symphoricarpos species and Ribes species. The larvae are black and are covered with yellow spines that will sting on contact with skin.

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References
  1. Savela, Markku. "Hemileuca nuttalli (Strecker, 1875)". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  2. Strecker, Herman (1875). "Meagre descriptions of some new species; to be followed in a subsequent part by what is infinitely better - good representations". Lepidoptera, rhopaloceres and heteroceres, indigenous and exotic; with descriptions and colored illustrations. 12: 106–108. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.9929 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  3. Pacific Northwest Moths


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