Tufted bird-dropping moth
Cerma cerintha
The tufted bird-dropping moth is an owlet moth from North America. As its name says, when it sits still it looks a lot like a bird dropping. That is a clever disguise, because no bird wants to eat that.
Lives in
North America
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Like most moth caterpillars, its caterpillars eat 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)
Tufted bird-dropping 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
Its look helps it hide from hungry birds in plain sight.
2
It belongs to the owlet moths, one of the biggest moth families.
3
It was first described in 1826.
you asked
Most asked questions about Tufted bird-dropping moth
?Why is it called the bird-dropping moth?
When it rests, it looks like a bird dropping, which helps it hide.
?Is the tufted bird-dropping moth dangerous?
No. It is a harmless moth.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Cerma cerintha
- Named by
- Treitschke, 1826
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Cerma cerintha (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 xpda. CC BY-SA 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.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Atlas moth
Luna moth
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Domestic silk moth
Isabella tiger moth
Polyphemus moth
White-spotted sawyer
Banded alder borer
Red-legged purseweb spider
Banana slug
Dotted paropsine leaf beetle
Two-striped walkingstick