Saddled Prominent (Heterocampa guttivitta)
Adults of the saddled prominent are brownish-gray moths, with a wing spread of 1 1/2 to 2 inches. They emerge from early June to mid-July from pupae that passed the winter within the upper 2 inches of the soil and leaf litter.
Eggs are laid individually and mostly on the underside of hardwood leaves from mid-June to mid-July. Hatching takes place after 9-10 days.
Larvae, at first, appear as very tiny reddish-brown "antlered," spiny caterpillars. When the larvae molt for the second stage they lose the "antlers" and are smooth-skinned, except for 2 small horns behind the head. During later stages they lose these horns and are generally of a yellowish-green color. The last stages have a prominent saddle-shaped patch of contrasting red to brown colors on the mid-back. Larvae at this stage resemble those of the variable oakleaf caterpillar but the saddle is much more distinct and mature larvae occur much earlier (July). At maturity, some 5 weeks after hatching when the larvae are about 1 1/2 inches long, they drop or crawl to the ground to pupate.
Nikon D7100
Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X AF Pro D Macro
100mm - f7.1 - 1/240 - ISO 100
Saddled Prominent (Heterocampa guttivitta)
Adults of the saddled prominent are brownish-gray moths, with a wing spread of 1 1/2 to 2 inches. They emerge from early June to mid-July from pupae that passed the winter within the upper 2 inches of the soil and leaf litter.
Eggs are laid individually and mostly on the underside of hardwood leaves from mid-June to mid-July. Hatching takes place after 9-10 days.
Larvae, at first, appear as very tiny reddish-brown "antlered," spiny caterpillars. When the larvae molt for the second stage they lose the "antlers" and are smooth-skinned, except for 2 small horns behind the head. During later stages they lose these horns and are generally of a yellowish-green color. The last stages have a prominent saddle-shaped patch of contrasting red to brown colors on the mid-back. Larvae at this stage resemble those of the variable oakleaf caterpillar but the saddle is much more distinct and mature larvae occur much earlier (July). At maturity, some 5 weeks after hatching when the larvae are about 1 1/2 inches long, they drop or crawl to the ground to pupate.
Nikon D7100
Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X AF Pro D Macro
100mm - f7.1 - 1/240 - ISO 100