Milkweed Tussock Moth
Euchaetes egle
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- A few weeks
- Size
- Small
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Gregarious
- Biome
- Temperate grassland
- Range
- North America
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Toxins
- Status
- Common
About
The Milkweed Tussock Moth is best known for its caterpillar stage, which is covered in dense tufts of black, white, and orange hairs that make it instantly recognisable on milkweed leaves. Adults are pale grey with a bright yellow abdomen spotted in black, and they sequester toxins from milkweed to deter predators throughout their life.
Life cycle
- 1.eggA tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
- 2.caterpillarA voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
- 3.cocoonA silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
- 4.mothA winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.
Learn more
Taxonomy
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Lepidoptera
- Family
- Erebidae
- Genus
- Euchaetes
- Species
- Euchaetes egle