Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Tiny

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Nocturnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

Eastern North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Uncommon

About

A small reddish-brown moth of eastern North America with a bright yellow fringe along the outer edge of its forewings. It's one of the most frequently recorded moths at porch lights and bait traps across its range.

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

Pyralidae

Genus

Hypsopygia

Species

Hypsopygia olinalis