Southwestern Tent Caterpillar Moth
Malacosoma incurva
Insecta
RARE
Stats
- Lifespan
- Annual
- Size
- Small
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Colony
- Biome
- Desert
- Range
- North America
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Rare
About
The Southwestern Tent Caterpillar Moth is a species of moth that can be found in the southwestern United States, including Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah. This species is notable for its unusual behavior of spinning large, tent-like structures out of silk to protect its larvae from predators.
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
- Lasiocampidae
- Genus
- Malacosoma
- Species
- Malacosoma incurva