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Sycamore Tussock Moth Larvae

Halysidota harrisii

Photo by Rowkey
Published on Project Noah
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40.0027, -82.9905

Field Notes

Description:

Largest and most common size found was appx one inch in length, a few individuals were almost as small as .5 inches.

IDd with the help of Jim McCormac. We're very curious about color variation within the species- many google results yield creamy (sometimes almost bright) yellow specimens. The ones I found had very red eyes compared to orange eyes of others. If you have any related info, I'd love to pass it on to Jim!

Jim's blog: http://jimmccormac.blogspot.com
More info here: http://www.urbanwildlifeguide.net/2010/07/sycamore-tussock-moth-caterpi…

Habitat:

Found while setting up at the Ohio state fair grounds. Very large, mature sycamores above mostly cleared ground, small patches of prairie plants and constructed wetland in the area.

Notes:

Found six or so while putting up signs and such- most were hanging out at about chest-height on wooden rails and aviary nets.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (1)

This is an excellent spotting. I've never seen a white tussock moth before. It never ceases to amaze me how many varieties of tussock moth there are, and how crazy they look. I guess the individual variations within the species is similar to that within any other - blue eyes vs. black, white fur vs. brown, etc. Trying to ID from image searches can be very difficult because of this. Great photos and info.
Photographed
PublishedJuly 24, 2014

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