Anisota virginiensis
an-nih-SOH-tuhMvir-jin-ee-EN-sihs
(Drury, 1773) Phalaena

Anisota virginiensis moth (female) courtesy of William T. Hark

This site has been created by Bill Oehlke .
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: virginiensis, (Drury, 1773)

DISTRIBUTION:

Anisota virginiensis, The Pink-striped Oakworm Moth (wingspan: males: 29-36mm; females: 43-51mm) flies in deciduous woodland, suburbs, and tree-lined city streets from Nova Scotia west across the Great Lakes states to Manitoba and Minnesota; south to central Florida, the Gulf Coast, and east Texas.

Virginiensis is the most widely distributed Anisota species, and many classify discolor and pellucida as color variations of virginiensis.

Male A. virginiensis tend to be quite dark, but lack any black speckling on the forewing. The hyaline area on the male forewing is pronounced and larger than in other species.

Anisota virginiensis pair, Dotsonville, Montgomery County, Tennessee,
August 4, 2013, courtesy of Tom Payne.

Females tend to be without dark spotting or with reduced spotting. All the female A. virginiensis I have seen on Prince Edward Island show a very clear "complexion" with a stong contrast between the purplish marginal area and the orangey median area. The light purple spotting on the female below was reason for more detailed analysis.

Visit beautiful images of live male and female Anisota virginiensis, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, courtesy of Jurgen Vanhoudt

Anisota virginiensis pair, Big Sugar Creek Park, McDonald County, Missouri,
June 10, 2009, photo courtesy of Allison Vaughn,
Division of State Parks, Missouri Department of Natural Resources,
submitted with permission by Tim Vogt, id confirmed by DNA barcoding analysis,
courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

Anisota virginiensis pair, Big Sugar Creek Park, McDonald County, Missouri,
June 10, 2009, photo courtesy of Allison Vaughn,
Division of State Parks, Missouri Department of Natural Resources,
submitted with permission by Tim Vogt, id confirmed by DNA barcoding analysis,
courtesy of Rodolphe Rougerie.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There is one Anisota virginiensis brood from June-July in the north, at least two broods from very late April-May-September in the south, and probably several broods throughout the year in Florida.

Larvae feed on various oaks (Quercus species).

Here on Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada, I sometimes find larvae in the rearing sleeves I use for polyphemus and lunas on Betula papyrifera. I also find them on various oak species.

Anisota virginiensis female, Fillmore, Bossier Parish, Louisiana,
August 11, 2010, courtesy of Jeff Trahan.

Anisota virginiensis female, Liberty, Liberty County, Texas,
April 30, 2013, courtesy of Stuart Marcus.

Anisota virginiensis female, Franklinville, Gloucester County, New Jersey,
June 25, 2014, courtesy of David and Catherine Perrin

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Anisota virginiensis adult males are day fliers and mate in the morning.

Anisota virginiensis, July 29, 2005, Jasper Co., SC,
courtesy of Wasil Khan.

Females are larger than males and the upperside of female is orange with pale purple at the margins of the wings. Scattered black specks are reduced or absent.

Anisota virginiensis female, Salem County, New Jersey,
courtesy of Jesse Donovan.

The upperside of the male (below) is dark bergundy-brown with some red on the hindwing and a large translucent (hyaline) area on the forewing. Both sexes have a small white cell spot on the forewing.

Anisota virginiensis male, reared from egg from female in Montague, Prince Edward Island,
scan by Bill Oehlke

Anisota virginiensis male, Tennessee,
courtesy of Thomas Payne.

Anisota virginiensis fifth instars, Tennessee,
courtesy of Thomas Payne.

Anisota virginiensis fifth instar, Kettle Moraine State Forest, Waukesha County, Wisconsin,
August 5, 2019, courtesy of Ray Dalman.

Anisota virginiensis fifth instar, Kettle Moraine State Forest, Waukesha County, Wisconsin,
August 5, 2019, courtesy of Ray Dalman.

I note that males that fly on Prince Edward Island in eastern Canada seems to have a much more yellowish-orange body, and larvae, which I have reared and found on many occasions, all seem to lack the red/pink stripes of larvae from further south, and consistently have a much more brownish colouration (see image below). I think we either have a different race, or possibly even an undescribed species on PEI.

EGGS, LARVAE AND PUPAE:

Females lay orangey-brown eggs after dusk in groups on the underside of oak leaves. Oily looking first instar oakworm larvae feed in groups, stripping foliage except for leaf vein skeletons. Several females were taken at my mercury vapour light in Montague, P.E.I., in early July. The females oviposited readily in small brown paper bags.

Gregarious feeding continues into final instar at which time pink-striped oakworm larvae leave foliage and pupate and overwinter in shallow underground burrows. Larvae scans by Bill Oehlke

Pupae are very rough and have an elongated forked cremaster. Sharp projections along side of pupae are similar to those of Dryocampa rubicunda.

Larval Food Plants

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.

Betula papyrifera Carpinus caroliniana..... Castanea dentata Corylus Fagus grandifolia Quercus alba Quercus falcata Quercus macrocarpa Quercus marilandica Quercus nigra Quercus palustris Quercus petraea Quercus prinus Quercus robar Quercus rubra Quercus stellata Quercus velutina

Paper Birch American hornbeam American chestnut Hazel American Beech White oak Southern Red Oak Bur oak Blackjack oak Water oak Pin oak Durmast oak Chestnut oak English oak Northern red oak Post oak Black oak

The pronunciation of scientific names is troublesome for many. The "suggestion" at the top of the page is merely a suggestion. It is based on commonly accepted English pronunciation of Greek names and/or some fairly well accepted "rules" for latinized scientific names.

The suggested pronunciations, on this page and on other pages, are primarily put forward to assist those who hear with internal ears as they read.

There are many collectors from different countries whose intonations and accents would be different.

The species name "virginiensis" comes from the specimen type locality, Virginia.

I do not know the source of the genus name "Anisota".

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