Family Limacodidae - Slug Caterpillar Moths

Slug Caterpillars (larvae)

Slug Moths (adults)

Family name Limacodidae is from Limacodes (author?), which was a genus name for a number of species in this family, but is now (apparently) no long in use. That from limac/limax a snail or slug, plus suffix -odes form (1). This clearly refers to the caterpillars.

Common name is for the caterpillars, which move with a slug-like gliding motion.

50 species in 22 genera in North American listed at All-Leps

all North American genera in this family belong to subfamily Limacodinae

wingspan 15-43 mm (2)

Adult: body stout, often hairy; wings broad, rounded, often brown or yellowish with contrasting forewing markings; head small, retracted; antennae bipectinate in male, at least in basal half; abdomen often elevated and recurved when at rest, but this posture is not unique to slug moths

Larva: body variably naked to densely hairy, usually with stinging hairs; may be green, brown, or various other colors - often bright and/or strikingly patterned; surface may be smooth, bumpy, or ridged, sometimes with spines or spine-covered fleshy protuberances giving a bizarre appearance

Caterpillars feed on woody and herbaceous plants. (2)

overwinters as a larva in loose oval cocoon