Anisota senatoria
(J. E. Smith, 1797)

Anisota senatoria (female) courtesy of Leroy Simon.

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family Saturniidae Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Ceratocampinae, Harris 1841 Genus: Anisota, Hübner, 1820 ("1816") Species: senatoria, (J. E. Smith, 1797)

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DISTRIBUTION:

Anisota senatoria, the Orange-tipped oakworm moth (wingspan: males: 31-37mm; females: 45-59mm) flies in deciduous forests from southern Maine west across the Great Lakes region to central Minnesota; south to central Georgia, central Alabama, central Mississippi, Louisiana, and east Texas.

Anisota senatoria female, Eau Claire County, Wisconsin,
July 2, 2012, courtesy of Ian Miller.

Anisota senatoria is recorded in extreme southcentral Ontario, Canada, along the northern shore of Lake Erie, and it does fly as far north as the southern shore of Lake Ontario further to the east, but its range does not overlap with the range of Anisota finlayson, which flies along the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Otherwise, it is absent in Canada.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There is one Anisota senatoria brood from June-July, and oakworm larvae feed on various oaks (Quercus) and perhaps chinquapin (Castanea pumila).

Anisota senatoria male, New York, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

Anisota senatoria female, New York, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Anisota senatoria adult males are day fliers. Mating takes place from late morning to early afternoon. Females can be twice as large as males. The upperside of the female is yellow-orange to yellow-brown and the forewing has a white cell spot and varying amounts of scattered black specks. The upperside of the male is reddish orange to brownish orange and the forewing is narrow with a small white cell spot and a small whitish translucent patch.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

In late afternoon or dusk, females begin laying eggs in large clumps on the underside of oak leaves. Eggs hatch in about two weeks and predominantly black larvae are gregarious when young. Caterpillar populations can be large enough to cause severe defoliation of oaks. Trees can often survive a single year of defoliation, but repeat performances greatly reduce growth and can cause tree mortality. Ornamental oaks and city and suburban plantings are often sprayed to control this oakworm pest. Photo to right by Ricardo Bessin In early fall the fully grown caterpillars move to the ground, burrow in three to four inches, change to pupae, and spend the winter as pupae in their underground chambers. Photo to right by Leroy Simon

Anisota senatoria (possibly A. peigleri based on elongated scoli), courtesy of Wasil,
Forsyth County, NC in the vicinity of Winston-Salem, August 23, 2003.

Anisota senatoria fifth instar, Franklin County, southern Pennsylvania, courtesy of Ryan Saint Laurent.

Anisota peigleri fifth instar, Rock Hill, York County, South Carolina,
August 14, 2009, courtesy of Lonnie Huffman.

Visit additional Anisota "peigleri" images from York County, South Carolina, courtesy of Lonnie Huffman.

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.

Carya Castanea dentata Castanea pumila Castanea vulgaris Corylus Fagus Quercus alba Quercus bicolor Quercus coccinea Quercus ilicifolia Quercus imbricaria Quercus macrocarpa Quercus palustris Quercus prinoides Quercus prinus Quercus rubra Quercus stellata Quercus velutina Rubus allegheniensis..... Rubus idaeus

Hickory American chestnut Chestnut American chestnut Hazel Beech White oak Swamp white oak Scarlet oak Bear oak Shingle oak Bur oak Pin oak Dwarf chestnut oak Chestnut oak Northern red oak Post oak Black oak Bramble Wild red raspberry

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