Stats

Lifespan

Annual

Size

Small

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Climbing

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Uncommon

About

This moth larva lives inside a portable home crafted from twigs and pine needles. It spends its entire life cycle hidden within this camouflaged shell of its own making.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   A tiny ribbed egg laid on the underside of a host-plant leaf, hatching within days.
2. 2.
   caterpillar

   A voracious caterpillar feeds and molts through several instars, growing rapidly.
3. 3.
   cocoon

   A silk cocoon spun in leaf litter or soil while the body remodels into a winged adult.
4. 4.
   moth

   A winged adult with feathery antennae and scaled wings, most active after dark.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Psychidae

Genus

Thyridopteryx

Species

Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis