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Orgyia leucostigma, the White-marked tussock moth, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae. The caterpillar is very common especially in late summer in eastern North America, as far west as Texas, Colorado, and Alberta. There are two or more generations a year in eastern North America (Wagner 2005). They overwinter in the egg stage. Eggs are laid in a single mass over the cocoon of the female, and covered in a froth (Wagner 2005). Up to 300 eggs are laid at a time. he larvae are brightly coloured, with tufts of hair-like setae. The head is bright red, the body has yellow or white stripes, with a black stripe along the middle of the back. There are bright red defensive glands on the hind end of the back. Four white toothbrush-like tufts stand out from the back, and there is a grey-brown hair pencil at the hind end. Touching the hairs will set off an allergic reaction in many humans (Wagner 2005). Young larvae skeletonize the surface of the leaf, while older larvae eat everything except the larger veins (Rose and Lindquist, 1982). They grow to about 35 mm.

White-marked Tussock Caterpillar

Orgyia leucostigma, the White-marked tussock moth, is a moth in the family Lymantriidae. The caterpillar…

"Tussock Grass is a large grass, same genus with the cock's-foot grass of the United States; native of the Falkland Islands, Fuegia, and South Patagonia. It grows in great tufts or tussocks sometimes five or six feet in height, the long tapering leaves hanging over in graceful curves. The plant is a useful food for cattle."—(Charles Leonard-Stuart, 1911)

Tussock Grass

"Tussock Grass is a large grass, same genus with the cock's-foot grass of the United States; native…

The Brown-tail (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) is a moth of the family Lymantriidae. It is distributed throughout Europe. The wings of this species are pure white, as is the body, apart from a tuft of brown hairs at the end of the abdomen. The brown colouration extends along most of the back of the abdomen in the male. In the female, the back of the abdomen is white but the tuft of brown hairs is much bigger. Ths wingspan is 36-42 mm. The species flies at night in July and August and is attracted to light.

Brown-tail Moth Web

The Brown-tail (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) is a moth of the family Lymantriidae. It is distributed throughout…

Tussock Moths, Lymantriidae or Liparidae, are a family of moths with about 350 known genera and over 2,500 known species found all over the world, in every continent except Antarctica. They are particularly concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, India, Southeast Asia and South America; one estimate lists 258 species in Madagascar alone (Schaefer, 1989). Apart from oceanic islands, notable places that do not host Lymantriids include New Zealand, the Antilles, and New Caledonia.

Tussock Moth

Tussock Moths, Lymantriidae or Liparidae, are a family of moths with about 350 known genera and over…