Home Butterflies Photo & Other Details
Photo Details August 22, 2004 - LeBarron Point, Utah County, Utah - © Nicky Davis Family Tree Family: Saturniidae, Genus: Hemileuca, Species: hera Other Wing span: 2 3/4 - 3 5/8 inches .Wings are white with black markings including a black crescent-shaped cell spot on each wing. Adults emerge in early morning and are day fliers, mating in late morning. Females lay eggs in rings around twigs of host plants. Eggs overwinter and hatch from April-June. Young caterpillars feed together while older ones feed alone. Fully-grown caterpillars overwinter in loose cocoons in the leaf litter or in burrows in soft soil. Adults emerge from July-September, but at high elevations and northern latitudes, the cocoons overwinter and adults emerge in the spring. Caterpillar hosts are the Basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) and sand sagebrush (A. filifolia). Adults do not feed. Habitat: Great Basin sagebrush communities, pinyon-juniper woodland, and subalpine sagebrush meadows. Back to Top |