There is only one brood a year.
Egg Eggs are laid on the underside of leaves in large clusters. They take one to two weeks to hatch.
Larva Larvae are
gregarious in the early
instars and often do not disperse much in the late instars. The fifth instar is black with yellow-orange stripes on its side, and prominent spiny horns on the second segment of the thorax, about 5 cm long. Smaller spikes occur on the remaining segments. They feed on oaks in August and September.
Pupa As with most of this
subfamily, when the caterpillars are ready to pupate, they burrow underground. Just before that, they may be seen wandering to locate pupation sites.
Adult Adults emerge once a year to mate, in mid-June to mid-July. Mating occurs in the middle of the day, and females lay eggs late in the day. As with all of
Saturniidae, the adults do not feed. Their mouthparts have been reduced. Females are stout bodied, yellow orange with a silver-white spot and faint black line across the forewing. There is also a line across the hindwing. Males are much smaller, and red brownish, but also have the white spot and pale lines. Both are speckled with black spots. Wingspan 3–5 cm. ==Food plants==