DISTRIBUTION:

Hemileuca hera (wingspan: males: 55-67mm; females: 62-64mm), flies in the Great Basin area from southwestern Saskatchewan west to southeastern British Columbia; south to western Colorado, central Utah, and central Nevada. Subspecies marcata is in southern Oregon and northern California, while subspecies magnifica occurs in northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico, and southern Colorado.

Hemileuca hera hera male, Drowny Water Ranch, Grand County, Colorado,
July 19, 1993, wingspan: 67mm, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

Hemileuca hera hera male variant, Beaver Creek, Grand County, Colorado,
August 25, 1994, wingspan: 63mm, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

Hemileuca hera hera male variant, Kingston Canyon, Lander County, Nevada,
July 29, 1980, wingspan: 65mm, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

Hemileuca hera male, British Columbia, Canada,
courtesy of Leroy Simon.

The moth inhabits Great Basin sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodland, and subalpine sagebrush meadows and has been taken at elevations as high as 10,000 feet.

Hemileuca hera hera, North Dakota, male, courtesy of Gerald Fauske.

"Identification: Wings are white with black markings including a black crescent-shaped cell spot on each wing. Subspecies marcata (forewing length: males 35-40mm; females:33mm) (southern Oregon and northern California) has the black markings much reduced. Subspecies magnifica (northeastern Arizona, northern New Mexico, southern Colorado) is larger than the others and has darker, heavier markings."

Hemileuca hera magnifica male courtesy of Todd Huffman

Hemileuca hera magnifica courtesy of Todd Huffman

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species flies from July to September, but at high elevations and northern latitudes, the cocoons overwinter and adults emerge in the spring.

Larvae feed on Basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and sand sagebrush (A. filifolia). Purshia tridentata, P. filifolia and Pyrocantha are also reported as larval hosts. Krista Bekker reports them on Artemesia cana in Grasslands National Park, southwestern Saskatchewan, Canada.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING: Eclosions take place early in the morning and females call from 9:00-10:30 of the same day. Pairing with the slightly smaller males is very brief, usually less than an hour. Females make their ovipositing flights in the early afternoon, sometimes flying as late as 6:00 pm. Image courtesy of Steve Ife.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Females lay eggs in bands around twigs of the host plant. Eggs overwinter and hatch in April or May; the young caterpillars feed together and become solitary as they progress.

Hemileuca hera fourth instar, courtesy of Steve Ife.

Hemileuca hera final instar courtesy of Steve Ife.

Hemileuca hera final instar on Artemesia tridentata,
southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada, courtesy of Marius Aurelian.

Hemileuca hera hera, Grasslands National Park, Saskatchewan,
August, 2009, courtesy of Krista Bekker, on Artemesia cana, tentative id by Bill Oehlke.

The Hemileuca larva provided by Krista Bekker is a puzzlement. It is not really a perfect match for either hera or nevadensis (two saskatchewan species), and more strongly suggests Hemileuca nuttalli, but nuttalli is generally regarded as a much more westerly species, documented for British Columbia only so far as Canadian distribution goes. Perhaps Hemileuca hera simply is quite variable in larval stages.

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.

Artemesia cana Artemisia tridentata....... Artemesia filifolia

Silver sagebrush (KB) Basin big sagebrush Sand sagebrush

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