Page 342 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Lasiocampidae
DISTRIBUTION Parts of southern Europe and central Europe, from Spain to the
Balkans, and into southern Russia
HABITAT Limestone grasslands, hedgerows, and forest margins
HOST PLANTS Various trees and shrubs, especially Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa);
also on birch (Betula spp.), hawthorn (Crateagus spp.), poplar
(Populus spp.), and oak (Quercus spp.)
NOTE Hairy caterpillar that lives with others on a silken web

CONSERVATION STATUS Data de cient, formerly endangered

ADULT WINGSPAN

1 ⁄ –1⅜ in (27–35 mm)

CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2–2⅛ in (50–55 mm)
ERIOGASTER CATAX
EASTERN EGGAR
340
(LINNAEUS, 1758)

The caterpillars of the Eastern Eggar moth hatch from eggs
laid in batches of around 150 to 200 on branches and then
covered in gray hairs from the adult female’s abdomen. The
larvae overwinter and hatch the following spring, living together
gregariously on a silken, gray web, jerking their heads when
threatened to deter would-be predators. Older caterpillars move
away, become solitary, and pupate in a cocoon.

The moths are on the wing from September until November,
and there is a single generation. The species was once classed
as endangered but is no longer at risk across the eastern part of
its range, although still rare elsewhere. The adults are seldom
seen, but the caterpillars are easily spotted. Much of the threat
to Eriogaster catax comes from the loss of its habitat through

agricultural intensi cation and clearance of hedgerows, plus
the use of insecticides on trees with an infestation of hairy

The Eastern Eggar caterpillar is very hairy. Tufts caterpillars. It also su ers from high levels of parasitism.
of long, black, and orange-brown hairs run the
length of the dorsal surface, from the head to
the end of the abdomen, together with a broken
white line. The sides are covered in tufts of gray
and orange-brown hairs.

Actual size