North American Common Gray
Anavitrinella pampinaria
Also known as: Common Gray · Common Gray Moth · Common Grey · North American Common Grey
Insecta
COMMON
Stats
- Lifespan
- A few weeks
- Size
- Small
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Activity
- Nocturnal
- Social
- Solitary
- Biome
- Temperate forest
- Range
- North America
- Movement
- Flight
- Breeding
- Egg-laying
- Defense
- Camouflage
- Status
- Common
About
The North American Common Gray is a geometer moth whose mottled gray wings mimic tree bark so convincingly that it becomes nearly invisible resting on trunks by day. Its caterpillar is an inchworm that loops along twigs, feeding on a wide range of trees and shrubs across the continent.
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
- Geometridae
- Genus
- Anavitrinella
- Species
- Anavitrinella pampinaria