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Sticker of Banyan tussock moth
Bug card No. 0288 of 4,939

Banyan tussock moth

Perina nuda
Eats: PlantsMothsRainforests and jungles6 legs

The banyan tussock moth lives in warm parts of Asia. The males and females look so different that you might think they were two kinds of moth. Its hairy caterpillar has a broad black back and white hairs.

Lives in
India, Sri Lanka, southern China, Hong Kong, Thailand and the Malay islands
Top speed
about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless to people. Watch the hairy caterpillars without touching them.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of banyan and other fig trees, and also jackfruit and mango trees.
For real!Photo of Banyan tussock moth
Picture by Pavel Kirillov from St.Petersburg, Russia. CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The pupa is bristly, patched dark grey and cream, with orange hairs.

2

Its caterpillars sometimes nibble so many fig leaves that gardeners call them a small pest.

3

Scientists have named a virus after it, because the virus makes these caterpillars sick.

4

It was first described in 1787, more than 230 years ago.

you asked

Most asked questions about Banyan tussock moth

?What does the banyan tussock moth eat?

Its caterpillars eat banyan and other fig leaves, and also jackfruit and mango.

?Where does the banyan tussock moth live?

In India, Sri Lanka, southern China, Thailand and the islands of Southeast Asia.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Perina nuda
Named by
Fabricius, 1787
Group
Moths
Family
Erebidae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
Lives on
Asia
Also known as
Clearwing tussock moth

Where the facts come from

  1. Perina nuda (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Pavel Kirillov from St.Petersburg, Russia. CC BY-SA 2.0, 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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