Page 569 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Erebidae
DISTRIBUTION Canada, eastern and western United States
HABITAT Deciduous and mixed forest
HOST PLANTS Various, but mostly poplar (Populus spp.) and willow (Salix spp.)
NOTE Brightly colored caterpillar whose hairs can cause an
allergic reaction
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated

ADULT WINGSPAN

1⅜–1¾ in (35–45 mm)

CATERPILLAR LENGTH
2 in (50 mm)
LOPHOCAMPA MACULATA
SPOTTED TUSSOCK MOTH 567

HARRIS, 1841

Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillars hatch from eggs laid on
the leaves of the host plant and become active in summer and
early fall, feeding on leaves of a range of deciduous food plants.
The mature larvae move to the ground to pupate in loose
cocoons formed from silk and hairs. They overwinter, and the
night- ying adults emerge in early summer. There is a single

generation a year.

The eye-catching colors of the Lophocampa maculata caterpillar,
which are variable in di erent parts of its range, are a warning to

predators that the hairs are of an irritating nature. The irritant The Spotted Tussock Moth caterpillar is densely
can also cause skin rashes and even allergic reactions in humans covered with hairs. The head and end of the
abdomen are black, while the rest of the body
who are tempted to pick up the larvae, which should not be is yellow to orange red with a dorsal row of black
handled without gloves. The Spotted Tussock common name tufts. Additionally there are tufts of long, white
hairs at the head and posterior ends.
refers to the caterpillar’s tufts of hair. The species is also known
as the Mottled Tiger or Spotted Halisidota.

Actual size