Page 346 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Lasiocampidae
DISTRIBUTION Europe, Asia Minor, and east to northeast Asia
HABITAT Open places with low scrub, including mountain moorlands,
lowland acid heathlands, downlands, coastal dunes, woodland
edges, and hedgerows
HOST PLANTS Mainly on shrubs, including Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus),
Heather (Calluna vulgaris), heath (Erica spp.), Bramble (Rubus
fruticosus), and willow (Salix spp.); also herbaceous plants and
rushes (Juncus spp)
NOTE Furry caterpillar that often basks and feeds in sunshine
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but common throughout most of its range

ADULT WINGSPAN
2⅜–3½ in (60–90 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2 ⁄ –3⅛ in (65–80 mm)
LASIOCAMPA QUERCUS
OAK EGGAR
344
(LINNAEUS, 1758)

The life cycle of the Oak Eggar caterpillar varies according to
climate. In warmer regions, the adults y and mate in July and

August. Eggs are laid and larvae hatch soon after, overwintering
when well developed and pupating the following spring in a
tough, compact acorn-shaped cocoon. In cooler climates, the

adults y in May and June, and the larvae hatch in July, with

The Oak Eggar caterpillar is brown when their rst winter spent as a small, early instar caterpillar and the
young, sometimes partly blue gray, with second as a pupa. In both warm and cooler climates, the light
transverse, triangular, orange marks along

the back and sometimes longitudinal, white brown eggs are dropped by the female as she ies low at dusk
spots. When larger, it is blackish gray, with
straw-colored or brown hairs on the back over suitable habitat.
in broad bands alternating with narrower
black bands. Rusty-brown hairs predominate

along the sides, which have a ne white line. Male Oak Eggars y by day, searching for the nocturnal females,
which release their sex pheromone from a resting place in
the vegetation. This moth is not associated with oak but is
thought to have been named after the acorn-like cocoons, with
“Eggar” having been adopted for related species with similar,
somewhat egg-shaped cocoons. Populations with a two-year
cycle are often known as Northern Eggar—the subspecies
Lasiocampa quercus callunae.

Actual size