Comments for
Hairy caterpillar with thick white tufts (White-marked tussock caterpillar)

Click here to add your own comments

White-marked Tussock Moth caterpillar
by: Jim

Thank you so much for the ID! I now know NOT to use this caterpillar as a scrub brush :) Yes, VERY strange that such an interesting caterpillar morphs into such an uninteresting moth.
White-marked tussock caterpillar
by: Moni

Jim
DiAnne is correct, it is the white-marked tussock moth caterpillar.
Tussock moths are in the Lymantriidae family.
Some folks are allergic to the hairs so be careful around this caterpillar.
The female moths of this insect are wingless and therefore flightless. The males are brownish with distinct markings. To me they are rather interesting fluffy moths. Females lay eggs that overwinter. The caterpillars come out in the spring feeding on a wide range of trees including birch, black locust, cherry , elm, hackberry, hickory, oak, willow and many others.
This is a common caterpillar to see over eastern US to TX and Canada.

Here are some images of the moth
http://bugguide.net/node/view/521/bgimage

Your caterpillar
by: DiAnne

hi
That is a White Marked Tussock Moth Caterpillar.
I found one about a month ago in Southwestern Ontario.
Unfortunately such an interesting caterpillar turns into a rather unattractive brown moth !
Thanks for sharing your find.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How?
Simply click here to return to Insect Identification

Return to Hairy caterpillar with thick white tufts (White-marked tussock caterpillar)




All of Doug's Ebooks Can Be Found Here





Subscribe


Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner



Subscribe in a reader




Subscribe in a reader

E-Mail Updates


Enter Email Address Here:

Delivered by FeedBurner



Videos

Watch Videos


Loading...

.