Buck moth


The buck moth is a common insect found in oak forests, stretching in the United States from peninsular Florida to New England, and as far west as Texas and Kansas. It was first described by Dru Drury in 1773. The larvae typically emerge in a single generation in the spring. The larvae are covered in hollow spines that are attached to a poison sac. The poison can cause symptoms ranging from stinging, itching and burning sensations to nausea. Subspecies Hemileuca maia maia is listed as endangered in the US state of Connecticut.
The larvae feed on various oaks including scrub oak, live oak, blackjack oak, white oak, and dwarf chinquapin oak.
Eggs are typically laid in spiral clusters on oak twigs. Mature larvae enter the soil or leaf litter to pupate in late July and emerge between October and the following February as moths to mate and lay eggs. In Louisiana, particularly in cities such as Baton Rouge or New Orleans, where use of live oaks as street trees is extensive, the caterpillars can become a significant nuisance for humans. The caterpillars of this moth can also be a nuisance in some areas of Virginia, such as the Goshen Scout Reservation, where they are infamous for stinging people going to a summer camp in the area.

Taxonomy

The buck moth is in family Saturniidae and genus Hemileuca. There are currently 34 known species in genus Hemileuca. Due to similarities in larval characteristics, adult phenotype and food sources, several groups have been formed within the genus. H. maia is member of the maia group of genus Hemileuca.
There are eleven species in the Hemileuca maia species complex and four subspecies of H. maia:
*Hemileuca maia maia
*Hemileuca maia sandra Pavulaan, 2020
*Hemileuca maia warreni Pavulaan, 2020
*Hemileuca maia orleans Pavulaan, 2020
*Hemileuca maia menyanthevora Pavulaan, 2020
Hemileuca maia menyanthevora was originally described as a subspecies of Hemileuca maia on April 1, 2020. Cryan & Dirig subsequently described the same taxon as species Hemileuca iroquois, but the names have not been formally synonymized nor has the status of either name, changed.