Spanish moth
Xanthopastis regnatrix
The Spanish moth is a moth from the warm southeastern United States. Its caterpillar has a funny nickname: the convict caterpillar. Now and then a lost moth turns up far to the north.
Lives in
Southeastern United States, from North Carolina to Texas and Florida
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars feed on plants.
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)
Spanish 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
Lost moths have been seen as far north as coastal New York and Kentucky.
2
Its caterpillar is known as the convict caterpillar.
3
Scientists used to think it was part of another species, but now it has its own name.
you asked
Most asked questions about Spanish moth
?Where does the Spanish moth live?
In the southeastern United States, from North Carolina to Texas and Florida.
?What is a convict caterpillar?
It is the nickname for the caterpillar of the Spanish moth.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Xanthopastis regnatrix
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Convict caterpillar
Where the facts come from
- Xanthopastis regnatrix (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 Laura Gaudette. CC BY 4.0, 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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