White flannel moth
Norape cretata
The white flannel moth is a soft white moth from America. Its name comes from its fluffy look, like warm flannel cloth. Its caterpillars are not so cuddly, though, because they can sting.
Lives in
North, Central and South America, from the United States to Bolivia
Wingspan
2.7 to 3.3 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in)
Can it hurt you?
Has stinging hairs
The moth is harmless, but its caterpillars can sting. Look at them, but do not touch.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of hackberry and redbud trees.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 6 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 29 seconds
How big is White flannel 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)
White flannel moth about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
In the north it has two families of young each year, and in the warm south probably more.
2
Grown up moths fly in spring and again from summer to autumn.
3
It lives in a huge area, from the United States all the way down to Venezuela and Bolivia.
you asked
Most asked questions about White flannel moth
?Is the white flannel moth caterpillar dangerous?
Its caterpillars can sting, so it is best not to touch them.
?Where does the white flannel moth live?
In the Americas, from the United States down to South America.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Norape cretata
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Megalopygidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Megalopygidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Norape ovina (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 Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren. CC BY 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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