The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 27 Number 4 - Winter 1995 Number 4 - Winter Article 3 1995 December 1995 Biology of the Genus Hemileuca (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in Michigan Brian G. Scholtens University of Michigan Warren H. Wagner Jr. University of Michigan Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Scholtens, Brian G. and Wagner, Warren H. Jr. 1995. "Biology of the Genus Hemileuca (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) in Michigan," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 27 (4) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol27/iss4/3 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at
[email protected]. Scholtens and Wagner: Biology of the Genus <i>Hemileuca</i> (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) 1994 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 197 BIOLOGY OF THE GENUS HEMILEUCA (LEPIDOPTERA: SATURNIIDAE) IN MICHIGAN Brian G. Scholtensl and Warren H. Wagner, Jr.2 ABSTRACT The habitats and host plants of buckmoths (Hemileuca: Saturniidae: Hernileucinae) in Michigan are described and compared to those of the three species known from eastern North America, H. mala, H. nevadensls, and H. lucina. Michigan populations show variation in host plant and habitat use spanning the entire range of all three species. The presence of transitional phenotypes and the host plant and habitat data suggest that Michigan popu lations are a single, variable species. These things combined with the interme diate geographical location of Michigan's populations call into question the taxonomic distinctness of the three eastern buckmoth species.