Page 558 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Erebidae
DISTRIBUTION
DISTRIBUTION Areas of North America, Europe, the Middle East, and across Asia
TRIBUTION
DIS
to Siberia and Japan
HABIT A T Woodlands, scrub, parks, and gardens
HABITAT
HABITAT
HOS T PLANT S Various deciduous trees, including alder (Alnus spp.), ash
HOST PLANTS
HOST PLANTS
(Fraxinus spp.), birch (Betula spp.), chestnut (Castanea spp.),
oak (Quercus spp.), and willow (Salix spp.)
NOTE
NO TE Caterpillar with long hairs that may irritate predators
NOTE
A
CONSERVATION STATUS
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated
CONSERV
A
TUS
T
TION S
ADULT WINGSPAN
1⅜–1¾ in (35–45 mm)

CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 ⁄ in (30 mm)
EUPROCTIS SIMILIS
YELLOW-TAIL
556
(FUESSLY, 1775)
Female Yellow-tail moths lay their eggs in batches on leaves of
the host plant. The young caterpillars hatch and are gregarious
at first, staying together in large groups, but as they mature
they disperse and become solitary. Unusually, this species
overwinters on the food plant. The caterpillars become active
again in spring, feeding on young leaves, completing their
development and pupating by June. The pupa is brown black,
enclosed in a creamy-white cocoon.

The common name of the species is derived from the defensive
posture of the adult. When disturbed, the moth—also known as
the Gold-tail Moth or Swan Moth—lies on its side and raises the
tip of its yellow abdomen so that it sticks out beyond the back of

the wings. The moths are night- ying and on the wing during
July and August. Both larvae and moths have irritating hairs to
deter predators. Contact with the hairs can trigger a rash or even
an allergic reaction.

The Yellow-tail caterpillar is black with a broad,
red-orange dorsal stripe and lateral rows of white
spots, and a further red-orange stripe below the
spiracles. There is a distinctive hump with an
orange stripe on the rst segment, and black
tubercles appear on segments four and eleven.
The body is covered with tufts of long, black
hairs. The head is black.

Actual size