Bug FAQSagebrush Sheep Moth
Hemileuca hera · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Saturniidae
Also called: Hera Buckmoth, Hera Sheepmoth
The sagebrush sheep moth, Hemileuca hera, belongs to the Saturniidae family and has a wingspan of about 7 to 9 cm. It lives across western North America, from southern Saskatchewan and British Columbia down to Arizona and New Mexico, and adults fly from July through September. Caterpillars eat sagebrush, lupine and buckwheat species such as Artemisia tridentata, A. tripartita, Lupinus and Eriogonum.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Hemileuca hera is a moth in the Saturniidae family, commonly called the sagebrush sheep moth or Hera buckmoth.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Its wingspan ranges from 71 to 93 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Larvae feed on sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata and A. tripartita), lupine, and buckwheat (Eriogonum).
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults are on the wing from July to September, depending on location.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
The species is native to North America, spanning from southern Saskatchewan westward to British Columbia and southward to Arizona and New Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 14 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Colorado, California, Wyoming, Idaho, New Mexico, Utah, Oregon, Montana.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in United States; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Same family (Saturniidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemileuca_hera
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.