New York Counties

This distribution chart is a compilation of information from Paul Opler's Moths of North America Website, the Lepidopterists' Society Season Summary and personal communication with many residents of New York. See comments below the map.

Actual ranges may, in many cases, be more expansive than noted. There are some species indicated that may now be extirpated.

Clicking on a scientific name will take you to a file with pictures and/or information.

Western New York

Callosamia promethea??, Tioga County, New York,
June 17, 2013, courtesy of Sue Heavenrich, via Colleeen Wolpert.

Although I am fairly sure that the moth depicted immediately above is a female C. promethea, I cannot rule out angulifera which, probably, also flies in Tioga County. The two species do hybridize in nature, and the forewing cell markings in the moth in question are intermediate between what one might expect of the two species.

Antheraea polyphemus, in copula, Apalachin, Tioga County, New York,
May 30, 2013, courtesy of Colleen Wolpert.

O Anisota senatoria
O Anisota stigma
O Anisota virginiensis
O Citheronia regalis
O Citheronia sepulcralis
O Dryocampa rubicunda
O Eacles imperialis
O E. imperialis pini
O Sphingicampa bicolor

# Automeris io
# Hemileuca maia
# Hemileuca nevadensis

X Callosamia angulifera
X Callosamia promethea
X Hyalophora cecropia
X Hyalophora columbia
X Samia cynthia

+ Actias luna
+ Antheraea polyphemus

Meena Harribal confirms Dryocampa rubicunda in Ithaca, Tompkins County, July 7, 2010.

Randy Lyttle reports a Callosamia angulifera at lights in Wayne County, June 9, 2008. He also reports C. promethia, June 6; A. polyphemus, June 8th.

Steve Daniel reports four male polyphemus at lights, May 23, 2007, Pittsford, Monroe County.

Non-member Shannon Opey reports a live male Hyalophora cecropia from North Tonawanda, on the border of Niagara and Erie County, May 25, 2004.

Non-member Nancy DeVries, Monroe County, Rochester, N.Y., May 18, 2004, confirms Hyalophora cecropia with adult emergence from found larva. The cocoon had been brought indoors, probably hastening eclosion by a week or two.

Non-member Gary Fishbaugh, Cattaraugus County, sent me an image of Actias luna "shot June 3, 2003, at Portville in western NY, and an image of Hyalophora cecropia on June 10."

Non-member James Castle, Wolcott (Wayne County) sent me an image of a mature cecropia caterpillar, August 24, 2005.

On August 22, 2012, Denise Switzer sent me the Eacles imperialis pini larval image to the right. The larva was spotted in Forestport, Oneida County, New York, August 22, 2012. This is a first report of pini so far south in New York.

I suspect that previous reports of Eacles imperialis imperialis in nearby and slightly more northern and northwesterly counties of Lewis and Jefferson are actually of subspecies pini.

Northeastern New York

O Anisota senatoria
O Anisota stigma
O Anisota virginiensis
O Citheronia regalis
O Citheronia sepulcralis
O Dryocampa rubicunda
O Eacles imperialis
O E. imperialis pini
O Sphingicampa bicolor

# Automeris io
# Hemileuca maia
# Hemileuca nevadensis

X Callosamia angulifera
X Callosamia promethea
X Hyalophora cecropia
X Hyalophora columbia
X Samia cynthia

+ Actias luna
+ Antheraea polyphemus

September 11, 2011, non-member Rachel Dingman sends an image of prepupal Eacles imperialis pini from Plattsburgh, Clinton County. She writes, "I live in upstate New York (Plattsburgh) and found this guy in the road while walking. I live in a very wooded area. This caterpillar is about three inches long, tanish with a greenish belly. It is as wide as my thumb and has white raised bumps down its body and a light spattering of white hair. I have no idea what eats. We have in in a big tupperware bowl ful of grass until the morning when we will let it go back outside. (My five year old son is very amazed with it as am I since I can't find a pictur eof it on the web. Any ideas? Your website by the way is wonderful! Any help you could throw our way would be greatly appreciated!!"

June 23, 2009: Linda Miner here and I live in Queensbury, (Warren County) NY, and I found a large Antheraea polyphemus on my outside porch screen.

John V. Irion indicates, "For Warren county. Anisota senatoria, Dryocampa rubicunda, Callosamia promethea, Hyalophora cecropia, Antheraea polyphemus and Actias luna are all here also. I haven't gotten Eacles yet but I believe they probably are. I'll let you know when they are confirmed.

Lydia Wright, who earlier indicated Hyalophora columbia fly in Franklin County, confirms Actias luna and states, "I have also observed Antheraea polyphemus, Hyalophora cecropia and Callosamia promethea.

Liana Mahoney writes, "I can attest with certainty that there are populations of imperial, luna, polyphemus, and cecropia moths in Lewis County, as I have taken many of them at lights, and/or my students have brought them in to my classroom."

Southeastern New York

O Anisota senatoria
O Anisota stigma
O Anisota virginiensis
O Citheronia regalis
O Citheronia sepulcralis
O Dryocampa rubicunda
O Eacles imperialis
O E. imperialis pini
O Sphingicampa bicolor

# Automeris io
# Hemileuca maia
# Hemileuca nevadensis

X Callosamia angulifera
X Callosamia promethea
X Hyalophora cecropia
X Hyalophora columbia
X Samia cynthia

+ Actias luna
+ Antheraea polyphemus

Member Bob Muller writes, "Reporting wild promethea males coming to caged females 6/1, 6/8 and 6/10. Otsego county, NY.
Couplings 6/1 and 1/10.
Males fly in the 3-4 PM range around here."

Colleen Wolpert reports an Actias luna male in Apalachin, Tioga County, June 2, 2011.

Karl A. Wilson reports A. io on the wing in Endicott, Broome County, June 3, 2010.

Jeremy Laratro confirms Antheraea polyphemus in Nassau County. Jeremy writes, "I find them every year, here in Lido and Long Beach (June 24, 2008)."

Bill Evans reports Dryocampa rubicunda in Tompkins County, May 31, 2007

Bob Grosek writes, May 28, 2004: "This week was a good week for Silk Moths. At work I spotted an Io Moth and a Luna Moth. This week a friend found a Polyphemus Moth as well as both a male and female Promethea Moth!" in Binghamton (Broome County).

Jesse Hoteling writes, "I lived near the border of Broome and Chenango counties, and I have seen Automeris io, Dryocampa rubicunda, Hyalophora cecropia, Actias luna and Antheraea polyphemus in both of those counties.

Bruce Feller, Suffolk County, writes,"I have observed and collected sats in this county for forty-five years. Currently, I can confirm the presence of the below listed species in Suffolk through wild male fly-ins to tied females:

C. promethea, H. cecropia, A. polyphemus and A. luna.

Historically, I can confirm the presence of A. io, E. imperialis and C. regalis through wild collected adults at light. I believe that imperialis and regalis are largely absent at this time and that io may exist in small, highly localized populations. I can also report an interesting phenomenon, which occurred last year, in response to a tied female angulifera in the presence of a caged, calling promethea. I was attempting to obtain the cross when I was astounded to observe and secure a wild male angulifera at about 9:00 p.m. There is little tulip poplar in the area and despite this event, I remain doubtful about the presence of angulifera in Suffolk County.

Bruce confirms C. angulifera for Suffolk County, July 12, 2004.Eacles imperialis has been reported on Long Island by Hugh McInnis 2000-2012??

I cannot comment on Anisota, Dryocampa, Hemileuca or Sphingicampa as I have never actively pursued these varieties. In closing let me add that cecropia appear to be at the point of extirpation in some locations in Suffolk County but there are clearly some isolated populations. The only other observation I would offer deals with Samia cynthia which I believe no longer exists in wild populations in our area, i.e., Queens, Brooklyn, etc. I have collected this species over four decades and the last encounter was in the mid-1980's in Manhattan. Repeated attempts since to attract wild male fly-ins to caged females in traditional haunts have all failed. I am aware, however, that the presence of cynthia in the wild continues to be actively debated by collectors in this area. To my knowledge it never existed in Suffolk County.

Spider Barbour adds, "I have a few additions for SE NY. For Dutchess Co. & Columbia Co., add H. cecropia & A. polyphemus. For Sullivan Co. add Hemileuca maia, an interesting population on shale ridgetops along the Neversink River.

I'd like to confirm the S. cynthia in Dutchess Co., probably in one of the cities (Beacon or Poughkeepsie?) along the Hudson River.

Also, I suspect C. angulifera occurs in several other counties up the Hudson (Putnam and Ulster at least), since tuliptree is fairly common there. Promethea almost certainly occurs in Columbia Co., though I have not yet found it there.

I hope this gets people searching, as there are obvious gaps to be filled in. Also, some of these records are historical (e.g. C. regalis records north of Long Island), and the species may no longer occur in some counties where it has occurred in the past. There should be a way of marking these as historical, not current.

Scott Serrano, Stone Ridge, Ulster County-2003, confirms Dryocampa rubicunda, Callosamia promethea, Hyalophora cecropia, Actias luna and Antheraea polyphemus coming in to lights, to calling females and/or as cocoons found.

He has not seen Automeris io in his immediate area.

Rich Coons (May 17, 2003) writes, "I have lived in Germantown, Columbia County, for 54 years. This is in southern Columbia County and my list applies to both Columbia County and northern Dutchess County as we collect there as well. We began seriously collecting and rearing moths and butterflies in our neighborhood when we were about 14.

"The most unusual moth I've caught is a Black Witch, Ascalapha odorata, at Bard College tennis courts.

"The most unusual butterfly is the Regal Fritillary, Speyeria idalia. We caught one in about 1960. Have never seen another.

"I have noticed an increase in the number of moths since the 60's. It may be due to the decline in fruit farming in our area. I have no real data to back this up, but we kept a moth trap going and would travel the lights in our village on foot and then by car as we grew up. It was pretty rare at that time to see or catch a cecropia, luna or polyphemus.

"Anisota virginiensis, Automeris io, Callosamia angulifera, Callosamia promethea, Hyalophora cecropia, Actias luna and Antheraea polyphemus fly in Dutchess County and in Columbia County."

Jennie Stahl sent me an image of a male luna from Otsego County, June 4, 2003. Two days later (June 6, 2003) she sent an image of an Antheraea polyphemus male.

It is quite likely that Citheronia regalis and Samia cynthia are no longer present in Dutchess and Columbia counties.

Taylor Jones writes, "Bill: Examining the website map for southeastern New York, I noticed that the symbol for polyphemus was absent from Richmond County (Staten Island). Since my family returned to Staten island, in 1998, we have found polyphemus adults and/or caterpillars each year on the island's North Shore, which has thousands of mature oak trees. In June of 2000, while raking the lawn, I accidentally disturbed a pair of mating polyphemus in some bushes. The male took off, but we retrieved the female and released her in a nearby park.

P.S. Back when I disturbed that pair of polyphemus, a thought occurred to me (which I might have shared with you in an earlier message):

In places such as Staten Island, the chief threat to polyphemus and luna populations may well be the leaf blower. While my wife and I continue to conduct lawn maintenance the old-fashioned way -- by hand, and not being fastidious about the shrubs -- lawn crews invade our neigborhood each week, from March through October, removing every speck of leaf debris, etc., from around trees, bushes and foundations for at least half the homes. Replay this scene by the thousands across the island, and one can only imagine the loss of life among six-legged and four-legged creatures (and perhaps garter snakes), including caterpillars that spin their cocoons in leaf litter or pupate underground."

Taylor Jones reports a luna pairing, caged female with a wild male, May 5, 2005, Staten Island, Richmond County, temp around 48F.

Taylor reports a cecropia pairing with a wild male, May 22, 2005.

Callosamia promethea, wild male pairing with caged female, Staten Island, May 20, 2009, courtesy of Taylor Jones.

Taylor adds, "Ceceopia pairings, initiated between 12:30 and 1 a.m., seem to occur earlier on Staten Island than you might expect. Nearly all eclosures have occurred between May 14-28, and females emerging after June 1 have failed to attract mates. Egg fertility has essentially been 100%.

"Not sure what schedule my promethea are going to keep this year (2008)? Nine of my cocoons were from a second brood. The late pairing occurred on July 29, and I have no idea whether this will delay eclosure times this season?"

Ernie De Marie writes, August 20, 2005, "I can confirm that polyphemus moths exist in this area of suburban NY (Westchester County) in reasonable abundance based on wild males attracted to caged females I put out in June. Note that I did set out a number of excess caterpillars in the local park along the Bronx River the year before, but I doubt they would have come in the numbers I saw.

"Once I found about half a dozen promethea moth cocoons on a spicebush in the park (about 4 or 5 years ago), but when I took them home only small black and red parasitic wasps hatched out (and promptly got fed to my carnivorous plants).

"I tried to attract male luna moths with females that hatched out in June, but was unsuccessful until on one crazy night I went with my wife Grace and friend Andrew further north to Patterson NY (Putnam County). We took a caged female and pulled over near a swamp and woods on a country road, set the small cage on the hood of the car, and around one in the morning sure enough one male flew onto the hood. So lunas exist further north, but may have problems in the more suburban/urban area in which we live."

Ernie DeMarie (May 26, 2006) reports a luna sighting in Chappaqua, Westchester County. Ernie writes, "One of my students, Sam Stolowitz, caught a male luna moth last night at his house in Chappaqua, which is near the center of Westchester County in New York, and brought the moth to class today. Our department secretary, Alice Stagno, reported seeing a luna moth at her house in Putnam Valley the night before. Putnam Valley straddles the border between Westchester and Putnam counties (she is on the Putnam side). I also obtained two male polyphemus moths last week when I put a scenting female outside, so they have evidently eclosed already here in Tuckahoe, Westchester County."

Non-member Ed Komperda (Chenango County) writes (June 2, 2006), "Since May 25th, the following moths have been attracted to my light trap. A. polyphemus, H. cecropia (with help of calling females, I have lots of eggs), C. promethea female (4 of them but none with ova)."

Non-member Karl A. Wilson confirms Automeris io for Broome County June 5, 2006.

Member Bob Muller writes, "Reporting wild promethea males coming to caged females 6/1, 6/8 and 6/10. Otsego county, NY.
Couplings 6/1 and 1/10.
Males fly in the 3-4 PM range around here."

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