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Moth of the Week

Cinnabar Moth

Tyria jacobaeae

The cinnabar moth is part of the Erebidae family, one of the largest moth families. It is named after the mineral cinnabar, which is a similar bright red to the moth’s red & black wings. This species was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus and can be seen flying during the day and night.

Description Cinnabar moths usually have black forewings with red patterns and red hindwings with a black border. However on rare occasions, the red is replaced with yellow, or the forewings are red with a black border or fully black. These colors tell potential predators that the cinnabar moth is unpalatable, or has a unpleasant bitter taste.

Average wingspan of 37 mm (≈1.5 in)

Diet and Habitat These moths are native to Europe, eastern and central Asia, Siberia, and China. This species feeds on plants in the Senecio genus, especially ragwort. This plant is the reason why cinnabar moths do not taste good to predators since the caterpillars absorb bitter substances from the ragwort’s leaves. This plant is also why the cinnabar moth was brought to New Zealand, Australia, and North America since ragwort is an invasive plant species.

Mating Mating season for cinnabar moths is in early August. Female moths can lay up to 300 eggs on the underside of ragwort leaves in batches of 30 to 60 eggs.

Predators Most predators avoid cinnabar moths and larvae, except for various species of the cuckoo bird. Cinnabar moths have few predators because are a bright red, signaling to predators that they are unpalatable, or have a unpleasant bitter taste.

Fun Fact (CW: cannibalism) If and when the cinnabar caterpillars run out of leaves to eat on the ragwort plant, they will turn to cannibalism and eat each other for survival.

(Source: Wikipedia, Buglife)

Moth of the Week

Isabella Tiger Moth

Pyrrharctia isabella

The isabella tiger moth is part of the Erebidae family and was first officially named in 1797 by James Edward Smith. The caterpillars of this moth are referred to as woolly worms, woolly bears, and banded woolly bears. In Canadian folklore, these caterpillars serve as predictors of harsh or east winters depending on their hair’s length and color.

Description The isabella tiger moth’s body and wings range from tan to yellow-orange. The hindwings are a lighter shade than the forewings with both marked by black spots and faint lines. In females, the hindwings have a pink tone. The body also has a black spotted pattern with reddish-orange forelegs. The moth’s color darkens at the head to a red-orange or brown.

Average wingspan of ≈4.35 cm (≈1.7 in)

Diet and Habitat The caterpillars eat many plants and trees such as grasses, asters, birches, clover, corn, elms, maples, milkweed and sunflowers in deciduous woodlands and prairies. Adults drink nectar from host plants. They use a proboscis, which is like a feeding tube. These moths are found in all of the United States except for the states of Alaska and Hawaii, much of Mexico, and southern Canada. The isabella tiger moth also can be found in the Arctic.

Mating The isabella tiger moth produces two generations a year in its northern range and usually a three generations in the south. In May during the evening, females let out pheromones from a scent gland from their abdomen to attract mates. Males fly in zig-zag patterns and mate with the females. Females lay clusters of 50 or more eggs on the host plants. The eggs will hatch in 5 to 12 days. The eggs hatched in the fall will give way to caterpillars that will freeze in the winter, thaw in spring, and continue the cycle.

Predators Woolly bears will curl into a ball if feeling threatened. The stiff hairs protect the caterpillar from wasps, flies, mantids, birds, and other predators, such as humans. Touching a woolly bear is discouraged because these hairs may cause dermatitis, however they are not venomous and typically don’t cause irritation.

Fun Fact Woollybear festivals are held in several locations in the fall with games, costumes, and a winter prediction.

(Source: Wikipedia, Moth Identification, BugGuide, Minnesota Seasons, iNaturalist, Iron Tree Service, Wildlife in Winter)

Moth of the Week

Nine-Spotted Moth

Amata phegea, formerly Syntomis phegea

The nine-spotted moth or the yellow belted burnet is a moth in the family Erebidae, the family of tiger moths. The species was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. The moths gets its names from the common nine spots on its wings and the yellow band on the sixth segment of its abdomen.

Description Both the moth’s body and wings are an iridescent blue on black or green on black. The wings usually have eight to nine white spots, six spots on the forewings and two or three spots on the hindwings. However the number and the size of these spots can vary per moth. Finally, the moth’s body has its own yellow spot in the second segment of the abdomen accompanied by a yellow band on the sixth segment. The antennae are thin black wires with white tips, unlike most moths’ antennae which are fluffy or saw edged.

Average wingspan of 37.5 mm (≈1.5 in)

Males are smaller than females and have thicker antennae.

Diet and Habitat The nine-spotted moth caterpillars eat many herbaceous plants such as bedstraws, dandelions, docks, fleaworts, grasses, and other low plants. This species is mainly found in southern Europe but makes appearances in northern Germany, Anatolia, the Caucasus, and the Dutch nature reserves of Leudal and Meinweg. It does not breed in the United Kingdom, but does immigrate there on rare occasions. They prefer drier areas such as open ranges with shrubs and trees, open forests, and sunny slopes.

Mating Adult moths mate in late May to August depending on location. Sources vary as to whether this species has one or three generations a year. Females lay an average of 104 eggs on host plants in groups of up to 61 eggs.

Predators The nine-spotted moth avoids predation by birds due to its mimicry of the Zygaena ephialtes. The Z. ephialtes is a moth unpalatable to birds, so its wings are brightly spotted to warn predators of toxicity. This is called aposematism.

Fun Fact The official term for the nine-spotted moth’s type of antennae is filiform, meaning thread-like. It is the most basic type of insect antennae.

(Source: Wikipedia, Moth Identification, CAB Direct, Amateur Entomologists’ Society)

Moth of the Week

Fall Webworm

Hyphantria cunea

The fall webworm is in the family Erebidae. Described by Dru Dury in 1773, this moth is known for creating webbed nests as caterpillars and living in them until the pupa stage. They are considered pests in some areas due to their tendency to defoliate trees while feeding as larva and are known as an invasive species in East Asia.

Description Adult moths are mostly white in color with white legs that are black/brown and white in color. The top two legs are orange on the segment closest to the body. Under the eyes are patches of the same orange color and on occasion there are orange spots on the abdomen. In the north, the wings are completely white while in the south, the wings are speckled with brown or black spots.

Average wingspan: 38.5 mm (≈1.5 in)

Diet and Habitat The fall webworm feeds on just about any type of deciduous tree and can defoliate entire beaches or trees. In the eastern U.S., these moths prefer pecan trees, black walnut, American elm, hickory, fruit trees, persimmon, and sweetgum. In the west, alder, willow, cottonwood and fruit trees are commonly eaten. Adult moths do not feed.

This species is native to North America, ranging from Canada to Mexico, was introduced into other continents in the 1940s, and has since then spread. First recorded in 1949, this moth was introduced to the former nation of Yugoslavia and spread from France to the Caspian Sea and further into central Asia: Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and southeastern Kazakhstan. When introduced to Japan in 1945, it spread to generations per year since its arrival.[5] It spread into China, southern Mongolia, Korea and southern Primorsky Krai of Russia. Now it is considered holarctic, meaning found in almost all regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

Mating The mating season starts in late June and lasts until early July. In the northern part of North America, this species has one generation per year. The larvae hatch and live in late summer through early fall. In the south, which is cons to be under an approximate latitude of 40°N, there are two or more generations annually and nests appear progressively earlier the further south you go. Male fall webworms are typically only available for mating for about 30–60 minutes per day. This moth even shows a form of fall parental behavior. The female will try to protect the eggs after oviposition by covering her newly laid eggs with her abdomen hairs. Females lay the eggs on the underside of the host plants’ leaves in groups of about 100.

Predators The fall webworm has many predators such as Monomorium minimum, Vespula spp., Coleomegilla maculata, and Rogas hyphantriae.This species is parasitized by around 50 species, such as the flies Musca domestica and Muscina stabulans, and parasitic wasps such as Chouioia cunea and Therion morio. There are also several species of microsporida (unicellular spore parasites) such as Nosema necatrix Kramer, Weiser, and Nosema bombycis that are harmful. This species is also harmed by several viruses such as granulovirus and nucleopolyhedrosis virus. The caterpillars protect and defend themselves by shaking and jerking together, giving off a repellant scent, and irritants on their hairs or spines.

Fun Fact The fall webworm is a social insect as groups of caterpillars live in spun nests made from webs. These webs have many benefits like finding of mates, temperature regulation, increased growth rate, and protection from predators. However they also result in higher rates of infections and predation.

(Source: Wikipedia, USDA Forest Service, Missouri Department of Conservation)

@turkeygamemaster

Moth of the Week

Ornate Bella Moth

Utetheisa ornatrix

This moth was first described as Phalaena ornatrix and Phalaena bella by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. In 1960, it became known as the Utetheisa ornatrix by William Trowbridge Merrifield Forbes. It’s also called the ornate bella moth, ornate moth, bella moth or rattlebox moth and is in the family Erebidae.

Description The body is white with black spots on the back of the thorax and head. The legs are black and white and antennae are black and filiform. The hindwings are a pale or bright pink with an irregular black border. The forewings are orangish-yellow with white bands surrounding black dots. Patterns may vary. These colors are used to warn predators of the moth’s toxicity.

Wingspan range: 33 - 46 mm (1.3 - 1.8 in)

Diet and Habitat The larva feed on plants of the Crotalaria species such as Avon Park rattlebox, rabbitbells, smooth rattlebox, and showy rattlebox. These plants provide the larva and adults with alkaloid compounds which are the unpalatable to predators. They accumulate these toxins from the seed pods of these plants, however if the larva can’t eat a seed pod due to competition they will have to eat the leaves where is concentration is much lower. Larvae may prey on/eat others of its kind to maintain high levels of alkaloids. Alkaloids are also passed down from parents to eggs.

Its northern most range is from Connecticut westward to southeastern Nebraska and southward to southern New Mexico and Florida in the United States. Its southern most range is from Mexico, South America, and Central America. It’s southernmost reach is southeastern Brazil. This species is more common in tropical parts of this range due to host plant populations.

Mating This species demonstrates a form of sexual selection. The females choose a male to mate with based on the intensity of their pheromones. During mating, the females receive a “spermatophore” from the males containing sperm, nutrients, and alkaloid compounds. After mating, the females choose which males’ sperm fertilizes the eggs. Usually, the female chooses the male with the most alkaloids which tends to be the larger males. Adult males invest up to 11% of their body mass to create a spermatophore they provide to a female during mating. The nutrients given in the spermatophore allow the female to produce an average of 32 additional eggs in her brood.

Females mate an average of 4-5 times and up to 13 times, each with a different male. In the north there there two generations per year with more in the south.

Predators The larva and adults keep predators at bay with alkaloid compounds accumulated during feeding and inherited from parents. These toxins make them unpalatable to their main predators: spiders and bats. Specifically, the adult moth secretes an alkaloid foam from its head when threatened. However, larva and moths with low concentrations are more susceptible to predation than those with higher concentrations who are usually released and unharmed after being caught.

These toxins do not work against some predators like loggerhead shrikes.

Unlike other moths of the Arctiidae subfamily, this species moth does not have a way to audibly communicate their toxic which would help it to avoid bats altogether.

Fun Fact This species was first described on 1758 by Carl Linnaeus as two different species: Phalaena ornatrix was used to describe the paler moth specimens, and Phalanea bella, described the bright pink moth specimens. It was then moved to the genus Utetheisa in 1819 by Hübner. After nearly a century of struggling to identify this species and its subspecies, Forbes combined both species Utetheisa ornatrix and Utetheisa bella into one in 1960: Utetheisa ornatrix.

(Source: Wikipedia; The Island Packet; Institution of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida)

Moth of the Week

Garden Tiger Moth

Arctia caja

The garden tiger moth or great tiger moth is a moth of the family Erebidae. They were first described in 1758 by Charles Linnaeus. The caterpillars are known as “woolly bears.”

Description The forewings of this moth are brown with white patterning. This white pattern can be missing entirely. The hindwings are orange with black dots which also may vary from moth to moth due to chance and artificial reasons. French entomologist Charles Oberthür discovered about 500 different variation in patterns.

The patterns on the moth’s wings warn predators that they are toxic. The toxin in this species in part contains neurotoxic choline esters which interfere with the acetylcholine receptor.

The head is lined with red over dark brown and has white antennae while the thorax is a matching dark brown. The abdomen matches the hindwings with bright orange fur and black stripes.

Wingspan Range: 45 - 65 mm (1.8 to 2.6 in)

Diet and Habitat This species are called generalists, meaning they eat a wide variety of plants. That are known to eat plants in the Digitalis and Plantago genuses. These plants produce pyrrolizidine alkaloids, a common chemical that causes toxicity in moths. Adult moths eat nectar from flowers and have no observed preference.

They range from the northern United States and Canada to Europe and Northern and Central Asia. In Europe, it goes north until Lapland. They prefer cold, temperate climates and are found in the mountains of Tien Shan (up to an elevation of 3,000 m (9,800 ft)), grasslands, sand dunes, meadows, woodland edges, hedgerows, gardens, and forests. Because this species are generalists in diet, they are not confined to one habitat due to host plant locations.

Mating Females lay around 50 eggs on the underside of host plant leaves. Eggs hatch from August to September when the former generation has died. It has been observed that generations do not overlap.

Predators Adult moths use their wing patterns and colors to warn predators that they are inedible. Their diet allows them to gain toxins including neurotoxic choline esters which interfere with the acetylcholine receptor. The full effects of the toxins are not known. The adults are mostly preyed on by birds and bats. Another way the adults protect themselves from bats is to make noise with their wings which interferes with the bats’ behaviors.

However, several species of endoparasitic flies prey on the species as larva. These include: Carcelia gnava, Carcelia lucorum, Carcelia tibialis, Compsilura concinnata, Exorista fasciatax Exorista grandis, Hubneria affinis, Pales pavida, Thelaira leucozona, Thelaira nigripes, and Thelymorpha marmorata.

The larvas’ defense against outside forces is stinging hairs that cause hives and irritation in mammals, including humans. These hairs are not fatal.

Fun Fact The garden tiger moth has been a protected species since 2007 by the Biodiversity Action Plan in the United Kingdom.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation, Moth Identification)

Moth of the Week

Crimson-Speckled Moth

Utetheisa pulchella

The crimson-speckled moth is a part of the family Erebidae. This species was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. It is also called the crimson-speckled flunkey and crimson-speckled footman.

Description The forewings are white or cream with red spots broken up by smaller black spots. Black dots also line the lower edge of the forewing called the outer margin. The pattern of spots may vary and the red splotches can merge into lines across the wings. The hindwings are much blander, they are all white except for a waved black/dark brown edge on the bottom of the hindwing, also called the outer margin, and a mark of the same color in the middle of the hindwing.

The head and back of the thorax is spotted buff yellow and black while the abdomen is only white or cream to match the wings. The moth’s legs are white and its antennae are dark brown/black and filiform.

These colors warn predators that this species is toxic.

Wingspan Range: 29 – 42 mm (≈1.14 - 1.7 in)

Diet and Habitat The caterpillars eat forget-me-nots, starflower, ribwort plantain, and plants from the genuses Echium, Solanum, and Anchusa. In their Afrotropical range they feed on Northern bluebell and plants in the genuses Lithospermum, Heliotropium, Trichodesma and Gossypium.

These plants contain alkaloids which makes the caterpillars and adult moths toxic to predators.

This species has a large range and are native to the Afrotropics, North Africa, the Near East, and Central Asia. This species also migrates to the United Kingdom, though its patterns are defined as “sporadic.”

These moths inhabit dry open places, meadows, shrublands, grasslands, and parks.

Mating This species has multiple generations a year: the broods are “continuous” in the tropics while elsewhere they have 3 per year.

Predators These moths fly both during the day and night. They have no camouflage but instead their colors advertise to predators that they are unpalatable. The plants they eat as caterpillars contain alkaloids which make them toxic to birds and other animals.

Fun Fact The crimson-speckled moth has 5 subspecies: Utetheisa pulchella antennata, Utetheisa pulchella completa, Utetheisa pulchella dilutior, Utetheisa pulchella kallima, and Utetheisa pulchella pulchella.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation)

Moth of the Week

Salt Marsh Moth

Estigmene acrea

The salt marsh moth is a part of the family Erebidae. This species was first described in 1773 by Dru Drury. It is also known as the acrea moth.

Description Both male and female moths have white heads, thoraxes, and forewings with a varying pattern of black spots on the forewings, with some moths having no pattern at all. They also share an orange-yellow abdomen with a vertical line of back dots. On the male, the hindwings are the same organge yellow while on females the hindwings are white. Both males and females have three or four black dots on each hindwing.

Wingspan Range: 4.5 - 6.8 cm (≈1.77 - 2.68 in)

Diet and Habitat The caterpillar was first thought to be a pest to salt-grass, but in fact it prefers weeds, vegetables, and field crops such as dandelions, cabbage, cotton, walnuts, apple, tobacco, pea, potato, clovers, and maize. Adults do not feed.

This moth is found in North America, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Colombia, and Mexico. It prefers open habitats such as openings in woods, thickets, farm fields, grasslands, and marshes. It is called the “salt marsh moth” because it is common in coastal salt marshes (tidal marshes) along Pacific, Atlantic, and Gulf coasts.

Mating This species of moth does not emit pheromones from the tip of its abdomen but instead from its throat or the to of its abdomen. These moths are seen from May to August but can be seen all year in southern Florida and Texas. It is presumably during May and August they mate in most parts of their range while they mate all year round in Florida and Texas.

Yellowish eggs are laid in clusters on the host plant leaves. Females usually produce 400 to 1000 eggs in one or more clusters. It is possible to find a single egg cluster containing 1200 eggs. Eggs hatch in four to five days.

Predators This species is frequently parasitized as larvae, usually by flies in the Tachinidae family. In Arizona, the most common parasites were Exorista mellea and Leschenaultia adusta while two other parasitic flies were also seen: Gymnocarcelia ricinorum and Lespesia archippivora.

Both the larval and egg stages are oararzitized by Hymenopteran parasitoids such as Apanteles diacrisiae; Therion fuscipenne, T. morio, Casinaria genuina, Hyposoter rivalis; Psychophagus omnivorus, Tritneptis hemerocampae Vierick; Anastatus reduvii; and Trichogramma semifumatum.

A cytoplasmic polyhedrosis virus is known to harm this species but there are little data on its importance and effect.

General predators such as lady beetles, softwinged flower beetles, and assassin bugs prey on these caterpillars, but are not thought to have a large impact on population.

Fun Fact This species has 4 subspecies: Estigmene acrea acrea, Estigmene acrea arizonensis (Rothschild, (1910)) (Arizona), Estigmene acrea mexicana (Walker, (1865)) (Mexico), Estigmene acrea columbiana (Rothschild, (1910)) (Colombia).

(Source: Wikipedia, University of Florida, Missouri Department of Conservation)

Moth of the Week

Dew Moth

Setina irrorella

Photo credit

The dew moth is a part of the family Erebidae. It was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. It is thought to have gotten its common name from how the moth hangs from a blade of grass or a leaf when resting during the day. This gives it a transparent look.

Description This species’s wings can vary in colour from cream to yellow. The forewing has 3 lines of black dots across it with the hindwing usually having only one black dot. The underside of the forewing is gray with a yellow margin. The body is black with yellow or black legs.

There are many found variations of this moth:

signata Borkh. - the middle rows of spots are connected by streaks

ab. fumosa Sandb. - has brownish ground colour; found in the north, but also found in Germany.

flavicans Bdv. - has brighter deep yellow wings and the apex of the abdomen is yellow; found in the Mediterranean and Anterior Asia.

nickerli Rebel - paler yellow, the forewing slightly dulled with the exception of the clearer yellow inner margin; found in the Alps and Northern Europe.

andereggi H.-Schiff. - has dark veins on the forewings, appearing like rays; found in the high Alps, and in the higher North.

riffelensis Fall. - considerably smaller, the ground colour is slightly dulled, the black vein-streaks are more numerous, especially the costa and median veins strongly sooty black; found in the high Alps, especially abundant above Zermatt.

lata Christ. - larger with broader wings and paler with very few markings, the hindwing often quite without markings; found in Russia over North Siberia to Kamtschatka.

insignata Stgr., - quite similar to the preceding, but with narrower wings. The forewing also with very few dots, and hindwing without any; found in East Siberia.

Wingspan Range: 27 – 33 mm (≈1.06 - 1.30 in)

Forewing Range: 11 – 18 mm (≈0.43 - 0.71 in)

Diet and Habitat The larva of this moth eat only lichen.

This moth is found in the Palearctic region. Its range starts from Ireland, then spreads south through Europe and east to northern and Central Asia. It can be found in countries such as Siberia, Kamchatka, Chukotka, and northern Mongolia. This species can even live in the limestone Alps up to 2,000 meters above sea level. However, it can not be found in the high north and parts of the Mediterranean region.

It prefers to live in mossy and lichen-covered rock corridors, on chalky and sandy areas and steep, rocky sparse grasslands, rocky coasts, shingle beaches, and calcareous grassland inland. It can also be found in bogs, forest meadows, and on heaths.

Mating Depending on location, this moth can be seen from May to July. It presumably mates during this time. Generations per year not listed.

Predators Not listed. However, the adult males fly in the afternoon, at dusk, after dark, and at dawn. The females are largely nocturnal. These moths are presumably preyed on by nighttime predators such as bats.

Fun Fact The dew moth has four subspecies:

Setina irrorella irrorella

Setina irrorella freyeri (Nickerl, 1845)

Setina irrorella insignata (Staudinger, 1881)

Setina irrorella mediterranea (Daniel, 1964)

Additionally, dew moth caterpillars do not cocoon in trees or foliage but rather in between stones or rocks.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation)

Moth of the Week

Northern Giant Flag Moth

Dysschema howardi

Image Source

The northern giant flag moth is a part of the family Erebidae. It was first described in 1836 by Johann Christoph Friedrich Klug. This moth is known by two scientific names: Dysschema thetis and Dysschema howardi, which are considered to be synonymous. This moth’s scientific name may also be confused with Dysschema mariamne, which is the name of Mariamne’s giant flag moth.

Description Males and females have very similar patterned forewings that are black and white. They also both have red-orange abdomens, black heads, and black thoraxes with two yellow and white spots. However, both males and females have different hindwings, antennae, and sizes:

Females have orange hindwings while males have white ones.

A male’s antennae is fluffier than a female’s

Males are generally smaller than females

Males also tend to be more active.

Wingspan Range (Wikipedia): 85-95mm (≈3.35-3.74in)

Wingspan Range: (BreedingButterflies): 75-105mm (≈2.95-4.13in)

Diet and Habitat The larvae of this species eat on plants from the Asteraceae family such as Brickellia californica, Eupatorium rugosum, and Vernonia patens. Adults do feed, most likely nectar from flowers as when bred in captivity they are fed sugary liquids.

This species is found from south-western United States to north-western Mexico, specifically the states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. They prefer habitats that are hot and dry.

Mating These moths can be seen flying from June to August and presumably mate during this time. When bred in captivity, if these moths are not fed Brickellia californica or other plants containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids they will not want to mate. This is possibly because some species in the Arctiidae subfamily use PAs to create mating pheromones and defend themselves from predators.

Predators Larvae of this species hide under objects during the day and are more active at night. Adults are known to show their hindwings to frighten off predators or play dead.

Fun Fact When the larvae of this moth is ready to pupate, it finds a place and spins a silk “hammock” to pupate in.

(Source: Wikipedia [1][2], BreedingButterflies, Texas Entomology)

Requested by: @rodereicus

Moth of the Week

Banded Tussock Moth

Halysidota tessellaris

[Right | Left]

The banded tussock moth is a part of the family Erebidae, the tiger moth family. It was first described in 1797 by James Edward Smith. This species is also called the pale tiger moth, banded tussock moth, and tessellated halisidota. The common name “banded tussock” moth comes from the clumps of longer hairs that protrude amid the shorter ones on the caterpillars, called “tussocks.” The scientific name “tessellaris” refers to a tessellated pattern, or a pattern made of small stones similar to the pattern on this moth’s forewings.

Description This species has light brown, tan, or cream wings and upper body. The abdomen is a yellow-orange. The forewings have a pattern of beige bands with thin black outlines while the hindwings are blank. On the back of the thorax are two orange stripes with a teal stripe on either side. Adult males and females are identical in color and pattern.

Wingspan: 3.81 - 5.08 cm (1.5 - 2 in)

The caterpillars are covered in long hair that ranges from yellow-orange to dark gray. At the head and bottom of the caterpillars are especially long clumps of white, black, or orange hairs.

Caterpillar length: 3.5 cm (≈1.38 in)

Diet and Habitat Larvae of this moth feed on some species of alder, ash, apple, beech, birch, blueberry, boxelder, chestnut, chokecherry, elm, grape, hackberry, hazel, hickory, oak, sycamore, walnut, and willow. They eat the leaf tissue between leaf veins.

This moth lives in North America and ranges from southern Canada to Texas and central Florida. They inhabit wooded areas with different types of deciduous trees. Adults may be seen by lights at night.

Mating In the north, this species is univoltine with one generation and year while in the south, it is multivoltine with two or more generations on the south. In Missouri, a two generation a year habitat, adult moths are seen from early May until the end of August. They presumably mate during this time. Eggs are laid in masses on the undersides of host plant leaves. Caterpillars overwinter in cocoons made from their own hair.

Predators This moth and its larvae are preyed on by birds, salamanders, toads, bats (Eptesicus fuscus), and 9 different parasitoid wasps (Braconidae).

Caterpillars of this moth are covered in long hairs that are thought to cause stinging and rashes like other similar species. The larvae behave as if they are chemically protected, but they have not been tested for alkaloids according to Wikipedia. Adults are confirmed to have and use alkaloids like other moths in the Erebidae family. They gain these toxins from their diet as caterpillars which makes them unpalatable to predators.

Fun Fact Although some moths in the subfamily Arctiinae are called “tussock moths,” there is a different subfamily (Lymantriinae) also in the Erebidae that are called the “true tussock moths.” Lymantriinae moths used to be in their own family but are now grouped together with other subfamilies under the family Erebidae.

Adult banded tussock moths are visually very similar to adult sycamore tussock moths (Halysidota harrisii). Scientists even need to dissect the two in order to tell the difference.

(Source: Wikipedia, UMassAmherst, MarylandBiodiversityProject, MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION, BugGuide)

If you haven't done them already could you do the Picasso Moth? (Baorisa hieroglyphica)

(Also I just wanted to say your blog is an absolute delight to scroll through! Genuinely brightens up my day seeing the posts pop up on my feed)

Moth Of The Day #226

Picasso Moth

Baorisa hieroglyphica

From the erebidae family. They have a wingspan of approximately 50 mm. They can be found in northeastern India and Southeast Asia.

Image sources: [1] [2]