Hemileuca lucina
Henry Edwards, 1887

Hemileuca lucina, female, September 20, 2005, Strafford, NH, courtesy of Bonnie J. Caruthers.

TAXONOMY: Superfamily: Bombycoidea, Latreille, 1802 Family: Saturniidae, Boisduval, [1837] 1834 Subfamily: Hemileucinae, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Tribe: Hemileucini, Grote & Robinson, 1866 Genus: Hemileuca, Walker, 1855

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DISTRIBUTION:

The New England buckmoth, Hemileuca lucina (wing span 45 - 60 mm, females larger than males), flies in wet meadows and open fields in southern Maine, New Hampshire, southeastern Vermont, and Massachusetts.

Ryan St.Laurent has advised me that David Wagner reports this species in Kent County, Rhode Island in 1984.

The "male abdomen is black with a red tip; the female abdomen is black. The upperside of the wings is gray with narrow black borders, black at the wing bases, and wide translucent white bands."

Hemileuca lucina (male), USA, courtesy of Eric van Schayck.

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species flies in September and October.

Larvae feed on Oaks (Quercus), wild black cherry (Prunus serotina), willows (Salix), gray birch (Betula populifolia), and blueberry (Vaccinium).

Sam Jaffe reports them on Narrow-Leaved Meadowsweet, Spirea alba in Massachusetts. Sam writes, "I found a nice large group of Hemileuca lucina yesterday (May 28, 2011) - early instars. I have found these for the last four years running and always on Spirea alba. I noticed your host plant info for the species didn't include it. I hope I'm clever enough to get eggs from these this fall."

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adults emerge in the early morning and mate in the early afternoon.

Hemileuca lucina, female, September 20, 2005, Strafford, NH, courtesy of Bonnie J. Caruthers.

On July 5, 2005, Bonnie found the larva depicted near the bottom of this page. She reared it to pupation and then writes on September 20, 2005:

"I met Jeff Boettner on Saturday at a conference, and I asked about my H. lucina. He said to soak the peat and expose to normal day length and temps. I soaked on Sunday and the moth eclosed tonight! "She seems to have the more distinct markings on her abdomen and does not have the red tuft at end. I will have to create a mating cage from smaller size hardware cloth or she will get out."

Hemileuca lucina, female, September 20, 2005, Strafford, NH, courtesy of Bonnie J. Caruthers.

Bonnie was succesful in her attempt to have the lucina female call in wild males. See the Egg-laying Account with images.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

In the fall, females lay eggs circling a main stem that will expose the eggs to sun. Eggs overwinter and hatch in the spring. Young caterpillars feed in clusters and older ones feed alone. Fully-grown caterpillars wander and make loose cocoons in leaf litter or a few inches underground in soft soil. Peat moss is a good pupation medium. Image courtesy of David Wagner.

Bonnie Caruthers found the larva below on July 5, 2005, in Strafford, New Hampshire.

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 populifolia....... Quercus Prunus serotina Salix Spirea alba Vaccinium

Gray birch Oaks Wild black cherry Willow Narrow-Leaved Meadowsweet (SJ) Blueberry

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