Page 602 - The Book of Caterpillars: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species From Around the World

MOTH CATERPILLARS

FAMILY Noctuidae
DISTRIBUTION United States, southern Canada, North Africa, Europe, the
Middle East, northern India, Russia, Mongolia, northern China,
Korea, and Japan
HABITAT Deciduous woodlands, parks, and gardens
HOST PLANTS Deciduous trees and shrubs, especially oak (Quercus spp.)
NOTE Green caterpillar that has a pyramid-shaped dorsal hump
CONSERVATION STATUS Not evaluated, but a relatively common species

ADULT WINGSPAN
1 ⁄ –2 ⁄ in (40–52 mm)
CATERPILLAR LENGTH

1⅜–1⅝ in (35–42 mm)

AMPHIPYRA PYRAMIDEA
COPPER UNDERWING
600
(LINNAEUS, 1758)

The Copper Underwing female moth lays her eggs, singly or
in small groups, on the bark of host trees or shrubs. The eggs
overwinter and hatch in spring, the caterpillars appearing as
early as April and as late as June. The larvae feed on leaves of
the host plant and then pupate inside a leaf shelter, which they
build by rolling a leaf and securing it with threads of silk.

There is a single generation, with the night- ying adults on the
wing from August to October. The species name of the Copper
Underwing comes from the pyramid-shaped hump at the end
of the caterpillar’s abdomen, and this feature is reflected in
some of the moth’s alternative names, such as the Pyramidal
Green Fruitworm and the Humped Green Fruitworm.
The Copper Underwing caterpillar has a
distinctive dorsal hump with a yellow point Although called an “underwing,” Amphipyra pyramidea is not
on the eighth abdominal segment. The body a true underwing moth of the Catocala genus as the adult moth
is apple green with sparse white dots. There is
a lateral yellow-and-white stripe, which is not lacks banded or all-black hindwings.
visible on two of the segments. The spiracles
are ringed in black.

Actual size