Sandhill Prominent

Heterocampa varia · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Notodontidae

Also called: Sandplain Heterocampa, Sandplain Heterocampa Moth

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Sandhill Prominent
Photo: David George, CC BY

The sandplain heterocampa is a moth in the Notodontidae family, known as a prominent. It occurs in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Heterocampa varia belongs to the prominent moth family Notodontidae.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

This species is found in North America.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 12 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New Jersey, Massachusetts, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Months it is reported in the US

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Source: GBIF

More photos

Sandhill Prominent photo 2
Photo: Jeff Niznik, CC BY-SA
Sandhill Prominent photo 3
Photo: Teá Montagna, CC BY
Sandhill Prominent photo 4
Photo: Teá Montagna, CC BY
Sandhill Prominent photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0

Same family (Notodontidae)

White-dotted ProminentWhite-dotted ProminentNadata gibbosaBuff-tipBuff-tipPhalera bucephalaDamages trees, gardens or cropsCommon Gluphisia MothCommon Gluphisia MothGluphisia septentrionisPine Processionary-mothPine Processionary-mothThaumetopoea pityocampaDamages trees, gardens or cropsWalnut Caterpillar MothWalnut Caterpillar MothDatana integerrimaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSaddled ProminentSaddled ProminentHeterocampa guttivittaDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterocampa_varia

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-27 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-27.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.