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Saddled Prominent

Cecrita guttivitta (formerly Heterocampa guttivitta)[3]

The saddled prominent is a native moth whose caterpillars periodically defoliate beech, sugar maple and birch forests in late summer.[1][2]

Group
Insect
Order
Lepidoptera
Family
Notodontidae
US records
35 states
Sources
3 cited
Updated
2026-10-16
Saddled prominent caterpillar, green with a reddish saddle mark on its back
Saddled prominent caterpillar, green with a reddish saddle mark on its back. (c) Adrienne van den Beemt, some rights reserved (CC BY) — via iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0
On this page
  1. Identification
  2. Where it lives
  3. Biology
  4. Damage and signs
  5. Health risk
  6. Control
  7. Related profiles
  8. Common questions
  9. Sources

How to identify it

  • Grown caterpillars are about 1.1 to 1.5 inches long, smooth and usually green, with a red to purplish saddle-shaped mark on the back and a cream stripe along each side.[1][2]
  • Newly hatched caterpillars are reddish-maroon to black, with a pair of antler-like horns behind the head and black spikes on the back that are lost as they grow.[1][2]
  • Adults are inconspicuous mottled gray-green to olive moths about 3/4 inch long that rest camouflaged on tree bark by day.[1][2]

Where it lives

Native to the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada, with smaller outbreaks in Michigan and Wisconsin.[1][2]

US map: public records from 35 states since 1990 (GBIF).

Biology and life cycle

Pupae overwinter in the leaf litter; moths emerge from late May into early July and lay single eggs under leaves, 200 to 250 per female on average.[1][2]

Young caterpillars skeletonize leaf undersides, leaving translucent lacy patches; older ones eat leaves from the edges and shred them, littering the ground below.[1][2]

The Northeast has one generation a year; UMass notes two are possible over much of the East.[1][2]

Damage and signs

  • Favorite hosts are American beech, sugar maple, yellow birch and paper birch; red maple, striped maple and white ash are rarely attacked.[2]
  • Most feeding falls between late July and early September, so healthy trees usually cope, but repeated or drought-year outbreaks have killed 10 to 15 percent of trees in parts of New York, Pennsylvania and New England.[1][2]
  • Outbreaks come about every 10 years and last 1 to 3 years; one in 1968 to 1971 defoliated nearly 1.5 million acres in six northeastern states.[1][2]
  • Defoliated sugar maples produce less sap for maple syrup.[2]

Health risk

None to people or pets.[1][2]

Control

Keep them out

During an outbreak, UMass suggests fine netting such as cheesecloth could protect small ornamental plants near forests.[1]

Biological control

Egg parasitoid wasps, shrews, birds, ground beetles, stink bugs, fungi and a virus all help bring outbreaks to an end.[1][2]

Pesticides

Chemical control is not recommended routinely because outbreaks collapse on their own; where needed, Bacillus thuringiensis spares the natural enemies.[1][2]

Common questions

What is eating my beech and maple leaves in August?
In the Northeast, saddled prominent caterpillars are a common late-summer defoliator.[1][2]
How long do saddled prominent outbreaks last?
Usually 1 to 3 years before they collapse.[1][2]

Sources

  1. UMass Extension Landscape, Nursery and Urban Forestry Program (Landscape Insect & Mite Guide), “Heterocampa guttivitta (Saddled Prominent).” www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/landscape/publications-resources/insect-mite-guide/heterocampa-guttivitta (accessed 2026-10-16)
  2. USDA Forest Service (Forest Insect & Disease Leaflets), “Saddled Prominent (FIDL 167, Sept. 1987).” www.fs.usda.gov/foresthealth/docs/fidls/FIDL-167-SaddledProminent.pdf (accessed 2026-10-16)
  3. iNaturalist, “Cecrita guttivitta taxon page (order and family).” www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1372883 (accessed 2026-10-06)

Updated 2026-10-16. Built from sourced records. Spot an error? Tell us.