Definite tussock moth
Orgyia definita
The definite tussock moth is a moth where only the boys have wings. The girls have no wings at all and cannot fly. Its caterpillars munch on the leaves of many trees.
Lives in
Eastern North America, from Minnesota and New Brunswick south to Louisiana, in woods
Wingspan
3 cm (1.2 in)
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of willow, oak, lime, elm, birch, red maple and witch hazel.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 5 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 32 seconds
How big is Definite tussock moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Definite tussock moth about 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Only the male can fly. His wings are about 3 centimetres across.
2
The female has no wings at all.
3
Its caterpillars can live on many different kinds of trees.
you asked
Most asked questions about Definite tussock moth
?Can the female definite tussock moth fly?
No. The females are wingless. Only the males fly.
?What does the definite tussock moth caterpillar eat?
Leaves of trees like willow, oak, elm, birch and maple.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Orgyia definita
- Named by
- Packard, 1865
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Definite-marked tussock moth
Where the facts come from
- Orgyia definita (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 NCBioTeacher. CC0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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