Small phigalia moth
Phigalia strigataria
The small phigalia moth is a moth from North America that comes out very early in the year. In the south it flies already in January. The females cannot fly at all, because their wings are tiny.
Lives in
North America, from North Dakota to Texas and eastwards, in woods
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars are not fussy. They eat the leaves of dozens of trees and bushes, like oak, maple, birch, hickory and apple.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Small phigalia moth about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
The females have only small wings and stay on the ground or on tree trunks.
2
A male's front wing is 14 to 18 millimetres long.
3
In the north it flies from March to May.
4
Its caterpillars have been found on more than 30 kinds of trees and bushes.
you asked
Most asked questions about Small phigalia moth
?Why can't the female small phigalia fly?
Her wings are too small for flying.
?What does the small phigalia moth eat?
Its caterpillars eat leaves of many trees, like oak, maple, birch and apple.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Phigalia strigataria
- Named by
- Minot, 1869
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Apocheima strigataria (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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