GIANT LEOPARD MOTH

The 'Giant Leopard Moth' or 'Eyed Tiger Moth' ('''Hypercompe scribonia''') is a moth of the family Arctiidae. It is distributed throughout the Southern and Eastern United States from New England to Mexico. The obsolete name ''Ecpantheria scribonia'' is still occasionally encountered.
This species has a wingspan of 3 inches (nearly 8 cm). The wings of this moth are bright white with a pattern of neat black blotches, some solid and some hollow. The abdomen is dark blue with orange markings, the male has a narrow yellow line on the sides. Its legs have black and white bands. Adult moths are rather strictly nocturnal and do not generally fly before nightfall (Fullard & Napoleone 2001).
The caterpillar is of the "Woolly Bear" kind, with a thick coat of black bristles (setae) and red bands between its segments which become conspicuous when caterpillar rolls into a ball for defense. It should not be touched, as its setae may break off and cause a rash.

Contents

Recorded food plants

References

External links

Recorded food plants

The caterpillar eats a variety of broad-leaf plants such as broadleaf plantains, dandelions and violets:

★ ''Bougainvillea''

★ ''Brassica''

★ ''Citrus''

★ ''Euphorbia''

★ ''Helianthus'' (sunflowers)

★ ''Lonicera'' (honeysuckles)

★ ''Magnolia''

★ ''Musa'' (bananas/plantains)

★ ''Persea''

★ ''Phytolacca''

★ ''Plantago''

★ ''Pyrostegia''

★ ''Ricinus''

★ ''Robinia''

★ ''Salix'' (willows)

★ ''Taraxacum'' (dandelions)

★ ''Viola''

References

★ (2001): Diel flight periodicity and the evolution of auditory defences in the Macrolepidoptera. ''Animal Behaviour'' '62'(2): 349–368. PDF fulltext

External links

★ Hilton Pond Center

★ Entweb

★ Enature

★ Caterpillar hostplants database