Monkey slug moth
Phobetron hipparchia
The monkey slug is a moth from Central and South America. It belongs to the slug moth family, named so because their caterpillars creep along a bit like slugs.
Lives in
From Mexico and Panama to Brazil and Argentina
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of a tropical tree called Gliricidia.
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)
Monkey slug 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 lives in many countries, from Mexico all the way to Argentina.
2
Its caterpillars feed on the Gliricidia tree.
3
Slug moth caterpillars have very short legs, so they seem to glide instead of walk.
you asked
Most asked questions about Monkey slug moth
?Where does the monkey slug moth live?
In Central and South America, from Mexico to Argentina.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Phobetron hipparchia
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Limacodidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Limacodidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
- Also known as
- Monkey slug
Where the facts come from
- Phobetron hipparchia (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 Caroline Harding, MAF. CC BY 3.0 au, 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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