This site has been created by
Bill Oehlke at oehlkew@islandtelecom.com
Comments, suggestions and/or additional information are welcomed by Bill.
TAXONOMY:
Family: Sphingidae, Latreille, 1802 |
MIDI MUSICcopyright C. Odenkirk ON.OFF |
I was recently alerted by Curt Lehman of a sighting (September 2, 2013, with image) in Brooke County in northwestern West Virginia. This represents an eastward expansion of its known range.
Ceratomia hageni, DeSoto, Dallas County, Texas, June 24, 2009, courtesy of Virginia Dyson.
I identified the moths below based primarily on the distinct pale markings of the forewing apex, but more so by the pale submarginal area with short, thin, black dashes emanating toward the body from the midpoints of the dark areas of the fringe.
Ceratomia hageni, March 21, 2007, Ennis (Ellis Co.), Texas, courtesy of Val Mansfield.
I do not know if there is any correlation between the dog's illness and the moth, but larvae of Ceratomia hageni feed on foliage of Maclura pomifera (Osage Orange) and the fruit and foliage are known to contain certain toxins.
One website reports, "Contact with the sap from this tree can cause dermatitis (Schur 1932). Subsequent reports (Muenscher 1951, Gardner & Bennetts 1956, Schwartz et al. 1957) are brief and may all derive from Hurst (1942) and/or Schur (1932). It is by no means clear whether the sap is irritant or sensitising or both."
The dog's illness may not even have been directly related to the moths, but I would not be surprised if the milky sap of this plant can cause allergenic reactions in and of itself, and I also would not be surprised if it binds itself to certain toxic substances either naturally occuring in the soil or introduced through environmental spills or discharges.
Vernon A. Brou confirms there are at least four generations annually in Louisiana.
Ceratomia hageni, Woodbury, Cannon County, central Tennessee,
May 12, 2010, courtesy of Carol Wolf.
Ceratomia hageni fifth instar on Bois D’arc (Maclura pomifera) tree, DeSoto, Dallas County, Texas,
July 8, 2009, courtesy of Virginia Dyson.
Larvae feed on osage orange (Maclura pomifera).
Ceratomia hageni, Jasper, Newton County, northwestern Arkansas,
October 5, 2009, courtesy of Bob Barber.
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Enjoy some of nature's wonderments, giant silk moth cocoons. These cocoons are for sale winter and fall. Beautiful Saturniidae moths will emerge the following spring and summer. Read Actias luna rearing article. Additional online help available.
Eggs of many North American species are offered during the spring and summer. Occasionally summer Actias luna and summer Antheraea polyphemus cocoons are available. Shipping to US destinations is done from with in the US.
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