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Species Spilosoma vestalis - Vestal Tiger Moth - Hodges#8135

Representative Images

Vestal Tiger Moth - Spilosoma vestalis - female Vestal Tiger Moth - Spilosoma vestalis - male 8135 Vestal Tiger Moth Spilosoma vestalis? - Spilosoma vestalis - female Vestal Tiger Moth - Spilosoma vestalis - male Spilosoma vestalis, Vestal Tiger Moth - Spilosoma vestalis - male I believe this is a specimen of vestal tiger moth, Spilosoma vestalis in Southern California - Spilosoma vestalis Spilosoma vestalis? - Spilosoma vestalis Belden-J.2021.07 - Spilosoma vestalis
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Noctuoidea (Owlet Moths and kin)
Family Erebidae
Subfamily Arctiinae (Tiger and Lichen Moths)
Tribe Arctiini (Tiger Moths)
Subtribe Spilosomina
Genus Spilosoma
Species vestalis (Vestal Tiger Moth - Hodges#8135)

Hodges Number

8135

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Spilosoma vestalis Packard, 1864 (125)
Phylogenetic sequence # 930312

Size

Forewing length 16-24 mm. (Powell & Opler)(1)
Forewing length 19-26 mm. (Pacific Northwest Moths) (2)

Identification

Original description online: (125)
Wings pure white, usually with several scattered tiny black dots; inner surface of front leg femur with pink or reddish hairs; head and thorax white, hairy.

Range

Washington to California(3) and Baja California.(1)
Moth Photographers Group - large map with some distribution data.

Season

Most California records of adults are from January to August. (4)
May to June for Oregon and Washington. (4)

Food

Larvae feed on leaves of various flowering trees, particularly oak (Quercus spp.)

See Also

Fall Webworm Moth (Hyphantria cunea), Spilosoma congrua, and S. virginica are similar but do not have pink or reddish hair on inner surface of foreleg femur (see pinned adult images).
Pink-legged Tiger Moth (S. latipennis) is similar, and has pink or reddish hair on inner surface of foreleg femur, but only occurs in the east.
Satin Moth (Leucoma salicis; Lymantriidae) has pale yellow on thorax, base of forewing, and along costa, and has black rings on its legs.

Print References

Packard, 1864. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Philadelphia. vol. 3, p. (125)
Powell, J.A., & P.A. Opler 2009. Moths of Western North America. pl. 47.28; p. 270.(1)

Internet References

Pacific Northwest Moths
Moth Photographers Group
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)
Macromoths of Northwest Forests and Woodlands

Works Cited

1.Moths of Western North America
Powell and Opler. 2009. UC Press.
2.Pacific Northwest Moths
3.Essig Museum of Entomology, California Moth Species List
4.North American Moth Photographers Group
Contributed by Robin McLeod on 5 February, 2006 - 9:41am
Additional contributions by Maury Heiman
Last updated 8 March, 2013 - 8:08pm

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