Stats

Lifespan

A few weeks

Size

Small

Diet

Herbivore

Activity

Nocturnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate grassland

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Camouflage

Status

Uncommon

About

A small tan moth found across North America in fields and gardens, whose caterpillars spin loose silk webbing over host plants like beets, alfalfa, and pigweed while they feed.

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

Crambidae

Genus

Achyra

Species

Achyra rantalis