Hemileuca hera, the sagebrush sheep moth or Hera buckmoth, is a moth of the family Saturniidae. The species was first described by Thaddeus William Harris in 1841. It is found in North America from southern Saskatchewan west to British Columbia, south to Arizona and New Mexico.

Hemileuca hera
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Saturniidae
Genus: Hemileuca
Species:
H. hera
Binomial name
Hemileuca hera
Harris, 1841
Synonyms
  • Saturnia hera
  • Hemileuca pica
  • Hera chrysocarena

The wingspan is 71–93 mm. Adults are on wing from July to September depending on the location.

The larvae of Hemileuca hera hera feed on Artemisia tridentata, A. tripartita, Lupinus and Eriogonum. The larvae of Hemileuca hera marcata feed on A. tridentata.

Subspecies

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  • Hemileuca hera hera (Great Basin)
  • Hemileuca hera marcata (Southern Oregon)
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  • Robinson, E. & Schmidt, B. C. "Species Details Hemileuca hera". University of Alberta Museums. E.H. Strickland Entomological Museum. Retrieved November 12, 2020.
  • "Hemileuca hera (Harris 1841)". Moths of North Dakota. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  • Lotts, Kelly & Naberhaus, Thomas (2017). "Hera buckmoth Hemileuca hera (Harris, 1841)". Butterflies and Moths of North America. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  • https://www.csc.edu/news/story.csc?article=12503 Archived 2021-10-06 at the Wayback Machine "CSC houses extensive invertebrate collection" May 18, 2021