Eastern buckmoth females are larger than males. Male abdomen is black with a red tip, female abdomen is black. Upperside is black with an off-white median band and a small eyespot on each wing. Wing Span is 2 - 3 inches. Adults emerge in the morning and mating takes place in early afternoon. In the late afternoon, females lay groups of eggs in rings around twigs of the host. The eggs overwinter, and when they hatch the next spring the young caterpillars feed in groups. Caterpillars wander about and make their cocoons in leaf litter on the ground or a few inches underground in soft soil. Range is from Maine west to eastern Kansas; south to northern Florida, the Gulf states, and eastern Texas.