''Phobetron pithecium'', the hag moth, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...

of the family

Limacodidae The Limacodidae or Eucleidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Zygaenoidea or the Cossoidea;Scoble, M.J. (1992). ''The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity.'' Oxford University Press. the placement is in dispute. They are often c ...

. Its larva is known as the monkey slug.

Lifecycle

One generation a year occurs in the north, but two or more happen in the southern United States.

Larva

The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

is distinctive, with no close analogues, although it may be mistaken for the shed skin of a hairy spider or leaf debris. It has nine pairs of curly projections or tubercles of varying lengths from the flattened body, each densely covered in hairs. The third, fifth and seventh projection are often longer than the others. The caterpillar has been reported to cause irritation to humans. Like all limacodids, the legs are shortened and the prolegs are reduced to suction cups. The "arms" or tubercles can fall off without harming the caterpillar, aiding the larva in defense. The larvae are in length. It is solitary and is not a very significant agricultural threat, but it is a common sight in orchards.

Pupa

This species pupates in a cup-shaped cocoon with a circular escape hatch.

Adult

The adult moth has a wingspan up to . The male has translucent wings, and the female is drab brown and gray, with yellow scales on her legs. The day-flying female is said to mimic a

bee Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...

, complete with pollen sacs, and the male mimics a wasp.

Food plants

Larvae live on the underside of the leaves of, and feeds on, a variety of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

trees and shrubs, such as apple, ash, birch, cherry, chestnut, dogwood, hickory, oak, persimmon, walnut, and willow.

References

External links

BugGuide
Photos

Large photos of adults {{DEFAULTSORT:Phobetron Pithecium Limacodidae