The wingspan of the male Spring Cankerworm is approximately 1.25 inches. The female is wingless. The forewing is pale gray with veins variably accented with black. A black line angles inward from the apex. The hindwings are pale gray. The caterpillars are slender, light gray to light brown with variable fine gray and brown lines.
The Spring Cankerworm is common at Fontenelle Forest and Neale Woods. The adults fly in late winter through spring, some years as early as late February. The individuals shown here were photographed at Fontenelle Forest Nature Center in late February, early March and early April.
The larval food plants are maples, elms, oaks and many other deciduous trees and shrubs. The adults emerge and mate in early spring when it’s still too cold for most moths. Females lay eggs in masses of 100 or more which are pushed into bark crevices. The first and second instar caterpillars disperse by spinning down on silk threads that allow them to move around the forest. The larvae complete their development on new spring foliage. When mature, the caterpillar spends the next 10 months in a cell in the ground. Pupation occurs in late winter or early spring.
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