Hickory Horned Devil, or Royal Walnut Moth

The royal walnut moth, Citheronia regalis (Fabricius), is one of the more colorful of the emperor moths in Florida (Fig. 1), and one of two species in the genus to occur in Florida (Kimball 1965; Heppner 2003). It is a member of the saturniid subfamily Ceratocampinae, the regal or royal moths. The larvae are likewise very colorful, with huge horn-like scoli and spines (Fig. 2), and its ferocious appearance has spawned the common name of hickory horned devil. In Florida, it is also called the “Suwannee dragon.” It is fairly common in northern Florida and into central Florida, but one usually only sees the large larvae when they start crawling around to find an underground pupation site in mid-summer and again in late autumn. The adults are nocturnal and usually not seen by the general public. The larvae appear dangerous, with their huge “horns,” but have no known stinging setae. When bothered, the larva will rear up and snap its head backwards and around to hit anything touching it, so persons can be hit with the spiny horns this way, and if the larva is held in the hand, one finds it is quite strong when full grown at nearly 6 inches in size.