Elm spanworm moth
Ennomos subsignaria
The elm spanworm moth is a moth from North America. Its caterpillar is a spanworm, which means it walks by stretching forward and pulling its back end up into a loop, as if it is measuring the branch. It flies in summer.
Lives in
North America, from Texas to Alberta and east to the Atlantic coast, in woods
Wingspan
3.5 to 4 cm (1.4 to 1.6 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of elm, apple, birch, maple and oak trees.
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 Elm spanworm 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)
Elm spanworm 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 flies from late May to August and has one family of babies a year.
2
A few have reached Great Britain by accident, hidden in shipments of asparagus.
3
Its wings measure about 3.5 to 4 centimetres from tip to tip.
you asked
Most asked questions about Elm spanworm moth
?What does the elm spanworm eat?
Its caterpillars eat elm, apple, birch, maple and oak leaves.
?When does the elm spanworm moth fly?
From late May to August.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Ennomos subsignaria
- Named by
- Hübner, 1823
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Ennomos subsignaria (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 Arnold T. Drooz. CC BY 3.0 us, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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