Moths of North Carolina
Scientific Name:
Common Name:
 Family (Alpha):
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View PDFSaturniidae Members: Samia Members: 1 NC Records

Samia cynthia (Drury, 1773) - Ailanthus Silkmoth

Samia cynthia
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Bombycoidea		 Family:
Saturniidae		Subfamily:
Saturniinae		Tribe:
Attacini		P3 Number:
890074		 MONA Number:
7759.00		 Other Common Name:
Tree of Heaven Silk Moth
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLD                                                                                 
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution:
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Samia cynthiaAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Immature Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge 		Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: immatures.
Habitats and Life History
Habitats:
Larval Host Plants: Larvae are reportedly widely polyphagous, feeding on a range of trees and herbaceous plants, including Ailanthus, apple (Malus), ash (Fraxinus), basswood (Tilia), bittersweet (Celastrus), Celery (Apium graveolens), cherry (Prunus), dogwood (Cornus), elderberry (Sambucus), elm (Ulmus), holly (Ilex), hoptree (Ptelea), meadowsweet (Spiraea), mountain-ash (Sorbus), oak (Quercus), pear (Pyrus), privet (Ligustrum), Sassafras (Sassafras albidum), snakeroot (Ageratina), spicebush (Lindera), sumac (Rhus), Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas), Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), sycamore (Platanus), Tulip-tree (Liriodendron tulipifera), walnut (Juglans), and willow (Salix) (Mejia et al., 2020; Covell, 1984). Our one North Carolina record was associated with Tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus altissima). - View
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Exotic Invaded Habitats
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: GU [SNA]
State Protection:
Comments: A larva found in Guilford County in July 2017 by David Campbell appears to be the first state record for this species in North Carolina. Although a spectacular and interesting species, it is not native to North America -- both the moth and its host plant, Tree-of-Heaven -- were introduced in the 1860s in hopes of establishing a silk industry. While Ailanthus thrived in its new environment, the moth appears to be barely hanging on, with colonies currently known from only a small number of areas, mainly in the Northeast where it was first introduced.

 Photo Gallery for Samia cynthia - Ailanthus Silkmoth

Photos: 1
Samia cynthiaRecorded by: David Campbell on 2017-07-26
Guilford Co.
Comment: Larva found in a dense thicket of Ailanthus saplings growing along an abandoned railroad