Yellow-necked caterpillar moth
Datana ministra
The yellow-necked caterpillar moth is a brown moth from North America. It is named after its caterpillar, which has a yellow patch just behind its head. The caterpillars munch the leaves of apple, oak, birch and willow trees.
Lives in
Southern Canada and the United States, east of the Rocky Mountains and in California
Wingspan
4.2 cm (1.7 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of apple, oak, birch and willow 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 Yellow-necked caterpillar 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)
Yellow-necked caterpillar 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
Its wings are about 4 centimetres from tip to tip.
2
There is only one family of these moths each year.
3
It is famous for its caterpillar more than for the moth itself, which is why the caterpillar is in its name.
you asked
Most asked questions about Yellow-necked caterpillar moth
?Is the yellow-necked caterpillar dangerous?
No. It does not bite or sting, though it can eat many leaves on a tree.
?What does the yellow-necked caterpillar eat?
Leaves of apple, oak, birch and willow trees.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Datana ministra
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Notodontidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Notodontidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Yellownecked caterpillar
Where the facts come from
- Datana ministra (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 Plates: Dru Drury (1725–1803). Text: John Obadiah Westwood (1805–1893). Public domain, 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
Speckled wood
White-spotted sawyer
Banded alder borer
Red-legged purseweb spider
Banana slug
Dotted paropsine leaf beetle