How to identify a polyphemus moth
Polyphemus is a broad, warm-toned moth with a wingspan of roughly 4 to 6 inches. The wings range from tan to cinnamon or reddish-brown, crossed by pale and dark lines. Its signature feature is the large yellow-ringed eyespot on each hindwing, with a clear blue-black center; the forewings carry smaller eyespots. When startled, the moth can flash those big hindwing eyes to mimic the face of a larger animal and scare off a predator. The plump body is furry and the male's antennae are broadly feathered for tracking female scent.
Where the polyphemus moth lives
Polyphemus is one of the most widely distributed silk moths on the continent, found across much of the United States and into Canada. In open records it appears most often in Texas, New York, Virginia, Florida, and North Carolina. It lives in deciduous woods, wetland edges, orchards, and tree-lined neighborhoods wherever its host trees grow.
When polyphemus moths fly
Adults are most active from June through August. Warmer southern regions can produce two broods in a season, while northern populations usually fly in a single mid-summer generation. A warm, humid, windless night in that window is ideal, and National Moth Week (July 18 to 26 in 2026) falls squarely within the polyphemus flight season.
Caterpillars, host plants, and life cycle
The caterpillar does all the feeding. Polyphemus caterpillars are bright lime-green, accordion-segmented, and dotted with small reddish or silvery tubercles, growing to three or four inches. They eat the leaves of a wide variety of trees including oak, maple, birch, hickory, willow, and elm. When fully grown, the caterpillar spins a dense oval silk cocoon, often wrapped in a leaf that may fall to the ground. The emerging adult has no working mouthparts, cannot feed, and lives only about a week to mate and lay eggs.
How to see a polyphemus moth at night
Polyphemus moths come readily to artificial light, especially ultraviolet. The best current explanation is that bright lights disrupt flight orientation rather than truly attract: a moth tries to hold a natural light such as the moon at a steady angle, and a nearby bulb scrambles that navigation. To find one, set a white sheet outdoors with a UV (black light) or mercury-vapor lamp on a warm, still, moonless night; both pull in far more silk moths than white LED bulbs. Pick a good night for moths and check the sheet repeatedly through the first hours of darkness. Compare your find with the closely related luna moth or browse what is flying near you from the home page.