Western sheep moth
Hemileuca eglanterina
The western sheep moth is a big, pretty moth with pink front wings and yellowish back wings with black marks. Unlike most moths, it flies in the daytime. You can see it in summer in western North America.
Lives in
Western North America, including California
Wingspan
5.5 to 8.5 cm (2.2 to 3.3 in)
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat wild lilac, coffeeberry and wild roses.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🧱wings as wide as 2.5 toy building bricks⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 19 seconds
How big is Western sheep moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Western sheep moth about 20 km/h (12 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its front wings are pink with a yellow streak in the middle.
2
Near Mount Shasta in California there is a form that is completely black.
3
Its caterpillars are black with branched spines that start yellowish and later turn orange.
4
It belongs to the silk moth family, which has some of the biggest moths.
you asked
Most asked questions about Western sheep moth
?When does the western sheep moth fly?
It flies in the daytime in summer.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Hemileuca eglanterina
- Named by
- Boisduval, 1852
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Saturniidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Saturniidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Sheep moth, Common sheep moth
Where the facts come from
- Sheep moth (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 Gillian Bowser. Public domain, 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
Greek marbled bush-cricket
Glechoma gall wasp
Blackmound termite
Heart longhorn beetle
Rice root aphid
New Zealand vegetable bug