Sycamore tussock moth
The sycamore tussock moth is a pale yellow moth with dark bands on its front wings. Its caterpillar is a fluffy yellow ball of hair with long orange and white tufts sticking out like paintbrushes. It lives on sycamore trees.
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Fun facts
The caterpillars grow to about 2.5 to 3.5 centimetres long.
There are two families every year. The second one spends the winter as pupae inside cocoons.
The grown-up moth looks almost exactly like the banded tussock moth.
Birds eat most of them, which keeps sycamore trees safe.
Most asked questions about Sycamore tussock moth
?Is the sycamore tussock moth caterpillar poisonous?
Its hairs can cause an itchy rash on some people, so do not touch it.
?What does the sycamore tussock moth eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of sycamore trees.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Halysidota harrisii
- Named by
- Walsh, 1864
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Sycamore tiger moth
Where the facts come from
- Halysidota harrisii (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 James Solomon, USDA Forest Service, United States. CC BY 3.0 us, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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