Skiff moth
Prolimacodes badia
The skiff moth is a small brown moth from eastern North America. It belongs to the slug moth family. Their caterpillars have no proper walking legs and glide along leaves like little slugs.
Lives in
Eastern North America, from New Hampshire to Florida and west to Missouri and Mississippi
Wingspan
2.4 to 3.5 cm (0.94 to 1.4 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting people, so you can watch it up close.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat leaves of many trees and shrubs, such as birch, blueberry, cherry, oak, poplar and willow.
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 Skiff 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)
Skiff 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
The moths fly from May to September.
2
Its caterpillars are not picky and eat from many kinds of trees and bushes.
3
Slug moth caterpillars glide instead of walking, using sucker-like feet.
you asked
Most asked questions about Skiff moth
?What does the skiff moth caterpillar eat?
Leaves of many trees and shrubs, including oak, cherry, birch and willow.
?How big is the skiff moth?
Its wingspan is about 24 to 35 millimetres.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Prolimacodes badia
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Limacodidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Limacodidae
- Lives on
- North America
Where the facts come from
- Prolimacodes badia (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.
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