Orange wing
Mellilla xanthometata
The orange wing is a small moth from eastern North America. It is the only member of its group, called Mellilla. It is busy both by day and by night.
Lives in
Most of eastern North America
Wingspan
1.6 to 2.1 cm (0.63 to 0.83 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The caterpillar eats the leaves of the honey locust tree.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 4 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 38 seconds
How big is Orange wing 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)
Orange wing about 10 km/h (6.2 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It flies twice a year, in early spring and again in late June.
2
It is active both in the day and at night.
3
Its caterpillar only needs one kind of tree, the honey locust.
you asked
Most asked questions about Orange wing
?What does the orange wing caterpillar eat?
The leaves of the honey locust tree.
?When does the orange wing fly?
In early spring and again in late June.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Mellilla xanthometata
- Named by
- Walker, 1862
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Orangewing moth
Where the facts come from
- Mellilla (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 NSG group from Lund, Sweden. 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.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Atlas moth
Luna moth
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Domestic silk moth
Isabella tiger moth
Polyphemus moth
Alder sawfly
Cola nut gall wasp
Tree hole mosquito
Variable diadem
White micrathena
Slender-scaped carpenter bee.jpg){kind=link}