Citheronia sepulcralis
sih-ther-OH-nee-uhMseh-pel-KRAL-is
Grote & Robinson, 1865

Citheronia sepulcralis moth 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 was Citheroniinae: Neumoegen & Dyar, 1894 Genus: Citheronia, Hübner, 1819 Species: sepulcralis, Grote & Robinson, 1865

MIDI MUSIC "WhatAWonderfulWorld" copyright C. Odenkirk MIDI CITY ON.OFF <bgsound src="world.mid" LOOP=FOREVER>

DISTRIBUTION:

Citheronia sepulcralis, (wingspan 7.0-10.5 cm; females considerably larger than males), 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.

Citheronia sepulcralis female, © Patrick Coin, used with permission,
Durham County, North Carolina, June 6, 2004

Ryan Saint Laurent alerted me to this webpage image from the Bahamas.

Citheronia sepulcralis, Diamond Sunrise Restaurant, High Rock, Grand Bahama,
February 21, 2009, courtesy of Larry Manfredi.

Grand Bahama appears to be only about 60 miles (100km) of the coast of Florida. It is impossible to say whether the specimen depicted above is a resident of the Bahamas or if it possibly was attracted to some lights on a boat and hitched a ride out to the islands and then flew to the restaurant lights. I notice pale spots interior to the pm line near the costa in this specimen that seem to be distinct from other images of sepulcralis from the mainland. Perhaps there is a subspecies on the Bahamas.

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.

Vernon A. Brou indicates there may well be five broods in Louisiana with moths on the wing from March through October. The first peak is April 21 with the remaining four peaks beginning May 31 and continuing at 35 day intervals.

In some years the third brood, peaking in early July, is absent. The fourth brood, representing about 63% of the specimens taken by Vernon, peaks August 8-10.

Larvae feed exclusively on pine, but accept a variety of domestic and imported species. Ryan Saint Laurent sends a photo of a final instar larva feeding on Pinus clausa, Sand Pine, in Marion County, Florida.

Forewings of the female (courtesy of Vernon A. Brou, Jr.) are more rounded.

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 AND PUPAE:

Joel Szymczyk has sent this great "closeup" of a developing Citheronia sepulcralis larva inside its egg shell. Typical of most of the Ceratocampinae and Sphingidae, development becomes apparent through the transparent eggshells after a few days. The darker head, thorax and "horns", and even the lateral spiracles are visible in the image to the right. There doesn't seem to be any wasted space!

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.

Citheronia sepulcralis, first instar, Cottonwood, Alabama, courtesy of Joel Szymczyk.

Citheronia sepulcralis, second instar, Cottonwood, Alabama, courtesy of Joel Szymczyk.

Citheronia sepulcralis, third instar, Cottonwood, Alabama, courtesy of Joel Szymczyk.

Citheronia sepulcralis, fifth instar, Cottonwood, Alabama, courtesy of Joel Szymczyk.

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.

Citheronia sepulcralis St. Lucie, Florida, September 20, 2005, courtesy of Stephanie Marks.

Citheronia sepulcralis male (courtesy of Vernon Brou) with yellow replacing red

Visit Citheronia sepulcralis eggs and all instars, Virginia, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Citheronia sepulcralis, all instars and pupae, courtesy of Ryan St. Laurent.

Citheronia sepulcralis third instar, "stacked photo", courtesy of Rob Millar.

Citheronia sepulcralis fifth instar, Whitemarsh Island, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia,
feeding on southern pine, September 15, 2011, courtesy of non-member Robert Biro.

Citheronia sepulcralis in copula, Whitemarsh Island, Savannah, Chatham County, Georgia,
courtesy of non-member Robert Biro.

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 clausa (RSL) Pinus rigida Pinus strobus Pinus nigra Pinus mitis Pinus sylvestris Pinus taeda (RB) Pinus halepensis Pinus mugo Pinus ponderosa.....

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

Return to Citheronia Index

Return to Main Index

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 "sepulcralis" comes from the Latin "sepulcrum" for tomb or burial vault, probably alluding to the darker, muted colouration of this species.

The source of the genus name "Citheronia" is probably Mount Citheron (Greek mythology), an untamed wilderness, exempt from the laws of civilization. The goddesses go naked there and are free from any of the pressures of society.