''Spilosoma vestalis'', the Vestal tiger-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 ...

in the family Erebidae. It was described by

Alpheus Spring Packard Alpheus Spring Packard Jr. LL.D. (February 19, 1839 – February 14, 1905) was an American entomologist and palaeontologist. He described over 500 new animal species – especially butterflies and moths – and was one of the founders of '' The ...

in 1864. It is found along the coast of western North America, from

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

north to the

Kitsap Peninsula The Kitsap Peninsula () lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound, in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Hood Canal separates the peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of Ki ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and western

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

. The length of the forewings is 19–26 mm. Adults are on wing from May to June. The larvae feed on various plants, including ''

Alnus rubra ''Alnus rubra'', the red alder, is a deciduous broadleaf tree native to western North America (Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho and Montana). Description Red alder is the largest species of alder in North ...

'' and ''

Quercus garryana ''Quercus garryana'' is an oak tree species of the Pacific Northwest, with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It is commonly known as the Oregon white oak or Oregon oak or, in Canada, the Garry oak. It ...

''.Pacific Northwest Moths
/ref>

References

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''Spilosoma vestalis'' at BOLD''Spilosoma vestalis'' at EOL''Spilosoma vestalis'' at BHL
Moths described in 1864

vestalis ''Vestalis'' is a genus of damselfly, damselflies belonging to the family (biology), family Calopterygidae. The genus contains the following species: *''Vestalis amabilis'' *''Vestalis amaryllis'' *''Vestalis amethystina'' – Forest Damself ...

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