Maple spanworm moth
Ennomos magnaria
The maple spanworm moth looks just like an autumn leaf, with orange yellow wings that have notched edges. It flies at night in late summer and autumn. During the day it may rest on the walls of buildings.
Lives in
Southern Canada and the northern USA from coast to coast, south to Florida and California
Wingspan
4.3 to 6 cm (1.7 to 2.4 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat leaves of maple, oak, birch, alder, ash, elm, hickory, lime and poplar trees.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🧱wings as wide as 2 toy building bricks⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 22 seconds
How big is Maple spanworm moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Maple spanworm moth about 17 km/h (11 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Looking like a dry leaf helps it hide from birds.
2
It flies from July until early November, later than most moths.
3
There is only one family of these moths each year.
you asked
Most asked questions about Maple spanworm moth
?What does the maple spanworm eat?
Its caterpillars eat leaves of maple, oak, birch and many other trees.
?How big is the maple spanworm moth?
Its wings measure about 4.5 to 6 centimetres from tip to tip.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Ennomos magnaria
- Named by
- Guenée, 1858
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Notched wing moth, Notched-wing geometer, Notch-wing moth
Where the facts come from
- Ennomos magnaria (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 CBG Photography Group, Centre for Biodiversity Genomics. CC0, 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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