Forage looper moth
Caenurgina erechtea
The forage looper moth is a common moth of fields and grasslands in North America. It is also called the common grass moth. Its caterpillar munches clover, grass and alfalfa.
Lives in
The United States from coast to coast and nearby parts of Canada
Wingspan
3 to 4.2 cm (1.2 to 1.7 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The caterpillar eats clover, grasses, alfalfa and giant ragweed.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 7 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 27 seconds
How big is Forage looper 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)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Forage looper 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
It can be seen flying from March all the way to November, depending on the place.
2
Its caterpillar is a looper that walks by arching its back.
3
It lives right across the United States, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
you asked
Most asked questions about Forage looper moth
?What does the forage looper caterpillar eat?
Clover, grasses and alfalfa, the plants farm animals eat too.
?Where does the forage looper live?
All across the United States and in nearby parts of Canada.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Caenurgina erechtea
- Named by
- Cramer, 1780
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Forage looper, Common grass moth
Where the facts come from
- Caenurgina erechtea (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 Meganmccarty. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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