Page 566 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Erebidae
DISTRIBUTION Western and eastern areas of North America, Europe, North
Africa, western and central Asia, Russian Far East, and Japan
HABITAT Woodland edges and hedgerows, parks, and gardens
HOST PLANTS Deciduous trees, including willow (Salix spp.) and poplar
(Populus spp.)
NOTE Widely distributed and destructive caterpillar
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but widespread and common

ADULT WINGSPAN
1

–2 in (37–50 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH
1 –1¾ in (35–45 mm)
LEUCOMA SALICIS
WHITE SATIN MOTH
564
(LINNAEUS, 1758)

The female White Satin Moth lays eggs in clusters on tree trunks
and covers them in a white froth. The caterpillars hatch and feed
for a few weeks before overwintering in a silken web. The larvae
then emerge the following spring, start feeding again, and by
midsummer are ready to pupate. They then spin a loose cocoon,
which they attach to almost any surface. As well as defoliating
trees, the caterpillars wander widely in their search for food or
a place to spin their loose cocoon, often within rolled leaves. The
pupa is glossy black with tufts of hair.

The caterpillar is a major forest pest as it defoliates vast swathes
of deciduous forest, especially in North America, where, since
its arrival in the 1920s, it has spread across the continent.
The White Satin Moth caterpillar is brown black European species of parasitic wasps have been introduced to
with a row of distinctive oblong-shaped, white
to yellow blotches along the back and a yellow help control the species. The white, glossy-winged Leucoma
lateral line. It also has dorsal and lateral tufts

of long, reddish-brown hairs. salicis moth ies in summer.

Actual size