AILANTHUS WEBWORM MOTH

AILANTHUS WEBWORM MOTH

Atteva aurea
ERMINE MOTH FAMILY (Yponomeutidae)

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This strikingly colored moth – often mistaken for a beetle – has a bold orange pattern with white and black rosettes on its folded wings. Its wingspan is about one inch.

 

These moths can be seen from March through November or even December. The larvae feed on Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima) in a communal web.

 

The larvae eat the heads of cattails, prickly pear and the eggs of bagworm moths.

 

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