DISTRIBUTION:

The Diana Buck Moth, Hemileuca diana (wingspan: males: 40-50mm; females: 50-65mm), flies in desert scrub in pockets of Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. Some taxonomists treat diana as a subspecies of Hemileuca grotei. Others classify it as Hemileuca stonei. Much work needs to be done.

Apparently there is considerable variation in this species.

H. g. diana male, Perry Park Rd., Douglas Co., Colorado,
44mm, September 24, 1994, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

H. g. diana variation, 5 S of Wolfsburg, Douglas Co., Colorado,
50mm, October 8, 1987, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species flies from mid September to November, with peak activity in late October.

Larvae prefer to eat the flowers of narrow-leafed oaks.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Females make their ovipositing flights from noon until 6:00 pm.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Larvae hatch in February to early March and are highly gregarious and black in the first instar. They prefer to feed on narrow-leafed oak flowers. Larvae wander and become solitary feeders in the final stages.

Larvae pass through five instars and reach maturity at 39-48mm. Rearing conditons need to be warm and dry.

Hemileuca grotei diana by Jim Tuttle, Sedona, Arizona, May 14.

Pupation is on the surface in a loosely fashioned cocoon under loose debris. Pupae usually eclose that fall.

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.

Quercus emoryi Quercus gambelii Quercus turbinella......

Emory oak Gambel oak Scrub live oak

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