The Honey Locust Moth is a North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

n moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 in the family Saturniidae

Saturniidae

The Saturniidae, commonly known as saturniids, are among the largest and most spectacular of the moths. They form a family of Lepidoptera, with an estimated 1,300 to 1,500 described species worldwide...

.

Description

The wing

Wing

A wing is an appendage with a surface that produces lift for flight or propulsion through the atmosphere, or through another gaseous or liquid fluid...

s vary from a grayish color to yellow to orange to dark reddish brown, with a variable amount of black spotting and pinkish shading. The fore wing postmedial line runs to the costa before the apex. On the fore wing, the white reniform spot may be double, single, or may be lacking. The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 measures 4.7 to 6.7 cm.

Similar species

The only similar species in the Honey Locust Moth's range is the Bisected Honey Locust Moth (Sphingicampa bisecta).

The Bisected Honey Locust Moth is usually a little bit larger, has a straighter, more conspicuous postmedial line that runs to the costa at the apex, and lacks a white reniform spot.

Life cycle

The eggs

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

 are pale green and are laid in clusters on the host plant leaves. The young gregarious larva

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

e are pale green with four pairs of black thoracic filaments and a black horn on the end of the abdomen. They also have a lateral stripe which is mainly white. The older solitary larvae are grass green with two pairs of red horns on the thorax and one on the end of the abdomen. There are a number of silvered horns across the abdomen. The supraspiracular stripe is red and white. The body is dotted with white spots. The very similar-looking Bisected Honey Locust Moth larva has green horns and lacks the red in the supraspiracular stripe. The dark chrysalis is made in a cell under ground. It hibernates

Hibernation

Hibernation is a state of inactivity and metabolic depression in animals, characterized by lower body temperature, slower breathing, and lower metabolic rate. Hibernating animals conserve food, especially during winter when food supplies are limited, tapping energy reserves, body fat, at a slow rate...

 as a chrysalis. The Honey Locust Moth has three broods

Offspring

In biology, offspring is the product of reproduction, of a new organism produced by one or more parents.Collective offspring may be known as a brood or progeny in a more general way...

 per year, the first adults being grayish, the second yellow to orange brown, and the third being darker with more spotting.

Host plants

Here is a list of host plants used by the Honey Locust Moth:

• Honey Locust, Gleditsia triacanthos
• Kentucky Coffee Tree, Gymnocladus dioicus