Hyalophora euryalus
hye-uh-lah-FOR-uhMyour-REE-al-lus
(Boisduval, 1855) Saturnia Euryalus

Hyalophora euryalus female, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Saturniinae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 or Attacinae, Blanchard,1840 Tribe: Attacini, Blanchard, 1841 Genus: Hyalophora, Duncan, 1841

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DISTRIBUTION:

The euryalus moth, Hyalophora euryalus, (wing span: 3.5 - 5 inches (8.9 - 12.7 cm)) flies in British Columbia east to western Montana*, south through Washington into western Oregon and further south through California to Mexico: Baja California Sur. Euryalus is found in a wide variety of habitats including coastal areas, chaparral, and conifer forests.

*Patrick White indicates H. euryalus is not found in Montana. Reports from the northwestern counties are probably indicative of kasloensis. (Bill Oehlke)

Visit Hyalophora euryalus male, courtesy of Darrell Gulin.

Visit Hyalophora euryalus male, Brandon, Coos County, Oregon, May 14, 2015, courtesy of Tyler Ellison.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

There is one flight from January-July depending on location, altitude and seasonal variation.

Caterpillars feed on a wide range of plants including buckbrush (Ceanothus), manzanita (Arctostaphylos), gooseberry (Ribes), madrone (Arbutus menziesii), willows (Salix), alder (Alnus), and mountain mahogany (Cercocarpus betuloides).

Hyalophora euryalus female, May 15, 2005,
Stevenson, Skamania County, Washington, courtesy/copyright John Davis.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Female moths extend a scent gland from the posterior of the abdomen at night, and males, flying into the wind, are able to follow the plume and locate the female. There is considerable variation regarding size and shape of discal spots; sometimes the crescents in the lower wings extend beyond the post medial lines. Note size of male antennae below.

Kevin Conlon Photo (Hyalophora euryalus male).

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Hyalophora euryalus eggs and hatchlings, courtesy of Edna Woodward.

Females glue slightly oblong eggs, covered with a mottling of reddish-brown glue, singly or in small clumps on leaves of the host plant. The eggs hatch in 9-14 days and the caterpillars consume foliage.

Photo courtesy of Scott Smith.

The bottle-shaped, double-walled cocoon is spun in the outer part of the host plant and is attached to a twig by only one-half its length, leaving the valved-neck free in the air.

Hyalophora euryalus cocoon, California, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Hyalophora euryalus male, female, second, fourth and fifth instars, and cocoon, courtesy of Leroy Simon.

Visit Hyalophora euryalus fifth instar, June 17, 2009, 21 days after hatching, Wolf Creek, Josephine County, Oregon, courtesy of Edna Woodward.

Visit Hyalophora euryalus, eggs, all instars, cocoons and adults, Los Osos, San Luis Obispo County, California, June 2013, courtesy of Katie Pearce.

Visit Hyalophora euryalus, many instar, Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada, courtesy of Tim Taylor.

Larval Food Plants

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.

Acer glabrum Alnus rubra Amelanchier alnifolia Amelancher florida Arctostaphylos glauca Arctostaphylos patula Betula occidentalis Ceanothus cordulatus Ceanothus integerrimus Ceanothus sanguineus Ceanothus velutinus Ceanothus thyrsiflorus....... Cephalanthus Coffea Laryx laricina Liquidambar styraciflua Malus pumila Photinia arbutifolia Picea Prunus demissa Prunus emarginata Prunus pensylvanica Prunus serotina Prunus virginiana Pseudotsuga menziesii Purshia tridentata Pyrus malus Quercus Rhamnus californicus Rhamnus crocea Rhamnus purshiana Rhus arbutus Rhus laurina Ribes alpinum Ribes sanguineum Rosa Salix babylonica Salix discolor Salix exigua Schinus molle Shepherdia argentea Shepherdia canadensis Syringa vulgaris

Maple Red alder Western serviceberry Western serviceberry Black bearberry Greenleaf manzanita Mountain/Water birch Mountain whitethorn Deer brush Ceanothus Snowbrush Blueblossom/Cat's claw Buttonbush Coffee Tamarack Sweetgum Apple Christmasberry Spruce Western chokecherry Bitter cherry Pin Cherry (Bill Oehlke) Wild black cherry Chokecherry Douglas fir Antelope bitter brush Apple Oak California coffee-berry Hollyleaf buckthorn Cascara Sumac Laurel sumac Alpine currant Currant Rose Weeping willow Pussy willow Sandbar willow California peppertree........... Silver buffaloberry Soapberry Lilac

CAL PHOTO courtesy of S. S. Heaton.

Hyalophora euryalus pair, Los Angeles County in Southern California,
courtesy of Derek Bridgehouse, totally devoid of dark scales in the pm regions

Hyalophora euryalus pair, Yamhill County in coastal Oregon, courtesy of Derek Bridgehouse,
darker specimens with even darker scales in the pm regions

Generally as one moves further north, the H. euryalus become darker. There is a very dark race, possibly a self-sustaining hybrid of H. euryalus x H. columbia gloveri east of the B.C. mountains and into Idaho and Montana. It is sometimes refered to as Hyalophora kasloensis.

Visit a series of Hyalophora euryalus from British Columbia, courtesy of Steve Ife. Steve indicates many of the specimens are siblings and show considerable diversity.

Hyalophora euryalus male, courtesy of Horst Kach.

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