Page 544 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Erebidae
DISTRIBUTION Europe and across Asia to Japan
HABITAT Deciduous woodlands, scrub, and parklands
HOST PLANTS Various trees and shrubs, including birch (Betula spp.),
hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), and willow (Salix spp.),
as well as hop (Humulus spp.)
NOTE Hairy, potentially defoliating caterpillar that was once
dubbed “hop-dog”
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN
1 ⁄ –2⅜ in (40–60 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 ⁄ –2 in (40–50 mm)
CALLITEARA PUDIBUNDA
PALE TUSSOCK
542
(LINNAEUS, 1758)

Pale Tussock caterpillars hatch from 300 to 400 eggs laid in
batches on the underside of leaves. Initially, the larvae are
gregarious but become solitary in the latter stages. The brightly
colored hairs are a warning to deter potential predators, as they
can cause irritation and detach easily, lling the mouth of an

animal or the bill of a bird. The caterpillars crawl to the ground
to pupate, spinning their cocoon among the leaf litter, and
overwinter in the cocoon. The moths are on the wing from April
to June with just one generation a year.

The Pale Tussock caterpillar is green yellow The hairy caterpillars were once a major pest of hops and
with a dorsal row of black marks. The head and were named “hop-dogs” by the hop workers. Nowadays, the
body are covered in tufts of creamy-white hairs.

There are four conspicuous dorsal tufts of yellow elds of hops are sprayed, and the species is far less common.
hairs and, at the end of the abdomen, extra-long
tufts of red-brown hairs form a tail spur. However, population explosions occur periodically in forests
and woodlands, causing defoliation of trees. Generally the trees
suffer no long-term damage as the defoliation occurs late in
the growing season.

Actual size