Bug FAQBarrens Buck Moth
Hemileuca maia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Saturniidae
Also called: Buck Moth, Coastal Barrens Buck Moth
Source: Wikipedia
Adult buck moths have dark gray to black wings with a white band and a distinctive eyespot, and males are smaller with a rusty-red abdomen while females are all black. Caterpillars feed on oak leaves, emerge in spring, pupate in late July, and the adult moths appear from October to February. In Louisiana and parts of Virginia the larvae can become a nuisance because their spiny hairs inject venom that causes stinging, itching and burning sensations.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Mature moths are dark gray to black with a white band across each wing and a unique eyespot on the band. Males have a rusty-red abdomen while females are entirely black on head, thorax and abdomen.
Source: Wikipedia
Can it bite, sting or make you sick?
The caterpillars are covered with hollow spines attached to poison sacs that can inject venom, causing stinging, itching, burning and sometimes nausea.
Source: Wikipedia
How to get rid of it
- A nuclear polyhedrosis virus can kill the caterpillars during their first and fourth instars.
- Microbial control methods may safely reduce moth numbers during infestations.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars eat the leaves of several oak species, including scrub oak, live oak, blackjack oak, white oak and dwarf chinquapin oak.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
Larvae appear in a single spring generation.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from October to February after pupating in late July.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Buck moths are common across the United States from Florida to New England and west to Texas and Kansas.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 32 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin, New York, Ohio, Louisiana, Kentucky.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
How can I identify a buck moth?
Look for dark gray to black wings with a white band and a single eyespot; males have a rusty-red abdomen while females are all black.
Source: Wikipedia
When do buck moth caterpillars appear?
The larvae emerge in spring as a single generation.
Source: Wikipedia
Do the caterpillars sting?
Yes, their hollow spines inject venom that can cause stinging, itching, burning and nausea.
Source: Wikipedia
How can I control a buck moth infestation?
A nuclear polyhedrosis virus and other microbial agents have been studied to reduce caterpillar numbers.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Saturniidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_moth
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.