DISTRIBUTION:

Slosser's Buckmoth, Hemileuca slosseri (wingspan: males 52-59mm; females: 69-70mm) flies on rolling sand plains in west Texas, western Oklahoma, and southeastern New Mexico.

Hemileuca slosseri male, Hobbs, Lea County, New Mexico,
59 mm, November 4, 1994, courtesy/copyright Charles Bordelon and Ed Knudson.

"Male abdomen is black with a red tip, female abdomen is black and may have red bands, but not a red tip. Wings are translucent. Upperside of wings is gray with narrow black borders and black wing bases. Each wing has a wide white band and a small eyespot. "

FLIGHT TIMES AND PREFERRED FOOD PLANTS:

This species flies in November.

Oaks are the favorite host plants of the larvae.

ECLOSION, SCENTING AND MATING:

Adults emerge in the early morning and mate between mid-morning and mid-afternoon.

Males use well developed antennae to track the female's pheromone plume.

EGGS, LARVAE, COCOONS AND PUPAE:

Females lay eggs in rings around host twigs in the late afternoon. The eggs overwinter and hatch in April, and caterpillars feed together 1-2 feet off the ground. Fully-grown caterpillars spin loose cocoons in leaf litter under the host. Most of these will emerge as adults in the fall, but some may delay emergence for up to 2 years.

Hemileuca slosseri, fourth instar, Mescalero Sands, New Mexico,
May 3, 1991, courtesy of Jim Tuttle.

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.

Quercus.......

Oaks

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