I didn’t even know he was a silk moth when I first met him. It was October, a smoky afternoon pierced by the song of the tree crickets. His cocoon was hanging from a goldenrod stem along the stream, carefully woven and as long as a plum. I had never seen a silk moth cocoon before, and I didn’t recognize it. Several banded garden spiders (Argiope trifasciata) had spun their webs nearby; was this a spider egg sac?
I posted s to BugGuide, a delightful website that often proves helpful for identifying mystery insects and spiders. It was not a spider egg sac, I soon learned. There’s something pretty special about finding one of these cocoons. Silk moths (Saturniidae) are the insect world’s equivalent of owls. They’re visually pleasing creatures, mysterious, active at night, and easy to love. Even people who wouldn’t ordinarily care about insects will get excited about silk moths.
Earlier in the summer, I had met my first-ever silk moth, an incredibly marked, furry, maroon and chocolate female. Perching on a fireweed stem in the mountains, she let us approach within inches. She was as large as my palm, docile and quiet. And what species was this beautiful moth? Well, she wasn’t, actually. It turns out that, for silk moths of the genus Hyalophora, western Montana is home to a population that blurs the lines between species. To the east is Hyalophora columbia; to the west, Hyalophora euryalus. And in between, this silk moth and others like her form a stable hybrid population, constantly influenced by cross-breeding with both adjacent species. Informally, this population is known as Hyalophora “kasloensis.” Formally, this moth doesn’t belong to a species; she is a blend of two.
Furry moths are some of the most charming insects out there. With their fluffy bodies and fuzzy wings, they look more like plush toys than members of the Lepidoptera order. But don’t let their cute appearance fool you – these moths play important roles in nature.
In this article we’ll take a close look at furry moths. We’ll explore why they’re so hairy highlight some of the most popular furry moth species, and share some interesting facts about their lives. Whether you’re a moth enthusiast or just think these bugs are cute, you’re sure to learn something new!
Why Are Some Moths So Furry?
So why do some moths have thick wooly coats while others are relatively bald? This unique adaptation serves a few key purposes
Thermoregulation – The hairs on a furry moth help it retain body heat This allows it to warm up quicker in the sun, extending its time for active flight The hairs also provide insulation, preventing the moth from losing heat too rapidly at night.
Protection – A furry body helps camouflage moths against predators like birds and bats. It also cushions the moth if it happens to bump into objects while flying.
Blocking Sonar – The fuzzy surface disrupts echolocation calls from bats. This makes it harder for them to detect and catch moths on the wing.
Pheromone Dispersal – Male moths use their antennae to detect female pheromones during mating. The hairs around antennae help pick up and spread these scents more efficiently.
Popular Species of Furry Moths
North America is home to dozens of moth species with noticeably furry bodies. Some of the most charismatic include:
Rosy Maple Moth – This brightly colored moth has a dense yellow coat and pink wings bordered in yellow. It earns its name from the larvae’s habit of munching on maple leaves.
Virginia Ctenucha – Also known as the virgin tiger moth, this species has a thick white fur collar around its head. The rest of the body is covered in orange hairs.
Io Moth – Io moth caterpillars are totally covered in sharp quills. When they emerge from the cocoon as adults, they retain a very fuzzy thorax.
Polyphemus Moth – One of the giants of the moth world, Polyphemus moths have chunky, hairy bodies paired with large, strongly patterned wings.
Pink-Striped Oakworm – These moths are bright orange with pink and maroon stripes on the wings. They have very prominent hair tufts around their heads.
Puss Moth – The caterpillars of this species are known as “puss caterpillars” for their long soft hairs. As adults, they retain a scaled-down version of this fluffy coat.
Interesting Facts About Furry Moths
Beyond their conspicuous hairiness, furry moths have many other fascinating traits. Here are a few things that make them special:
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Many furry moths employ acoustic camouflage against bats. Specialized scales on their wings absorb sound waves, rendering their wing beats nearly silent.
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While butterflies generally rest with their wings closed, furry moths often leave their wings partly spread to display patterns and eyespots.
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Females release pheromones to attract mates, with some species able to draw in males from several miles away.
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Caterpillars spin silk cocoons to pupate in. Some furry moth cocoons incorporate the caterpillar’s own hairs into the silk structure.
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Adult moths cannot bite or sting, but some furry caterpillars have stinging hairs. Handling them can cause a painful rash.
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Many furry moth species are important pollinators. Their hairy bodies are excellent for picking up and moving pollen between flowers.
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Species like the dried mapleworm moth camouflage themselves as dead leaves when at rest during the day.
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While adult moths do not feed, their caterpillars are voracious eaters. Some are significant agricultural pests.
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Furry moths inhabit ecosystems around the world from rainforests to deserts. The highest diversity occurs in tropical regions.
In Closing
Whether delicately patterned or decked out in vibrant colors, furry moths capture our imaginations with their beauty. Their fluffy coats keep them warm, protect them from harm, and aid their survival in nature. We’re fortunate so many unique, charismatic species call North America home. The next time you spy a furry moth visiting your yard, take a moment to appreciate the wonder of its fuzzy existence!
Scents on the night breeze
The sun sets. Gradually, the prolonged summer twilight is fading. I know he doesn’t have much time now: adult silk moths are short-lived. Carrying fats they have stored since their caterpillar days, they don’t feed at all. They have just one priority now: find a mate and bring forth the next generation.
This male’s antennae are so feathery for a reason. They are finely tuned instruments, far more sensitive than any human nose: this male must find a mate by smell. The night after a female emerges, she will release a pheromone plume, a mix of chemicals specific to the Polyphemus moth. Using his delicate antennae, this male will search the breeze for her perfume. He will fly miles – perhaps as many as 20 – following her scent on the air currents.
After they mate, she will lay her eggs, a few on each host plant she chooses. Willows, maples, and birches are the usual hosts. With this long-distance signaling, Polyphemus moths can stay rare and still survive. This way, a solitary cocoon is able to overwinter near the willows along a stream, alone but connected to mates by messages on the summer night breeze. These low-density populations may manage to avoid predators and parasitoids that can plague more-common moths.
Into the world of the silk moths
This October cocoon hanging from the goldenrod was an invitation to dive deeper into the world of the silk moths. I began reading more about them. Montana has just a handful of species, and of those even fewer spend the winter hanging from a branch in a cocoon. And while the Hyalophora moths, with their mind-boggling hybrid populations, overwinter in a pointy-ended cocoon, this gently-rounded one had to be something else. According to the books, the only possibility that fit was the Polyphemus moth, Antheraea polyphemus. Like most silk moths, the adults live for just a matter of days.
I stopped to check on the moth periodically during the winter. Heavy in his cocoon, silent and apparently unchanged, he weathered snowstorms and periods of -20°F cold.
In February, I found another silk moth cocoon, on a chokecherry stem along the same stream. This one was a stripy silvery-gray, with pointed ends: a Hyalophora moth. I thought that in the spring I would bring both cocoons into a terrarium, where I could watch them complete their development. When they emerged, I would take photos and then release the moths to live their brief, adult lives in the wild.
But when I returned in March to check on them, the Hyalophora cocoon was gone. The chokecherry stem was bare now except for a few tiny wisps of silk. I searched the leaves all around, but the cocoon was nowhere to be seen. In this hungry season, I could only assume that a magpie or a deer mouse had found it. A silk moth pupa would be a good find for a starving scavenger.
The Antheraea moth was still resting, his cocoon undiscovered where I had found him five months before. But now I was worried: what if a predator found him, too? So I gently clipped the goldenrod stem and carried him home. I put him in a terrarium with a screen top, still hanging from the goldenrod stem. I left him outside in the shade of the garage, the screen top weighted down with a piece of firewood so that predators couldn’t get in. Hot and cold, night and day: I hoped that the fluctuations of temperature and light here would be similar to those along the stream. Temperature is a critical cue that guides the emergence of adult silk moths.
There he sat for months. When the cottonwoods leafed out in May, and the sandbar willows followed, I checked him almost every morning. By now, the leaves were out on the willows, maples, and birches, our most common local food plants for Polyphemus moth caterpillars. Shouldn’t he be emerging to mate?
I began to worry that I had messed something up by moving him. But when I emptied out the spring rains as they accumulated in the bottom of the terrarium, his hanging cocoon still felt reassuringly heavy.
Now it is June 25th. This has always been a special day for me: it’s my dad’s birthday and my brother Jeff’s birthday. This year it is bittersweet, though: my dad passed away last fall.
I check the cocoon in the morning and nothing has changed. But when I go back in the afternoon, something is different. A dark, furry brown triangle is resting there!
First I notice his broad, feathery antennae, intricately patterned. His furry chocolate legs are surprisingly stout. I reach towards him with my hand and he grips my finger. At the same time, he lets out a thick, whitish fluid. This is meconium, his accumulated waste from nine months in a cocoon. Ugh! This rather indelicate behavior may be a defense against predators.
His wings are incredible. The complex shadings of charcoal and brown are set off against the eyespots, translucent windows ringed in yellow and blue. I transfer him to a soft-walled butterfly cage and give him a branch to cling to. He hangs there through the evening, motionless and upside down.
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FAQ
What are the moths that look fuzzy?
Tussock moths are small, brown to gray moths with a fuzzy body. The males have fully developed wings, while the females have underdeveloped wings and can’t fly. The males will have large, feathery antennae that lay flat when they land. The hairs on the end of the moth’s abdomen can often cause rashes or an itch.
What is a moth furry?
Moths use their fluffy-looking scales the same way we mammals use our fur: to provide insulation and keep warm. This is especially important for tiny, nocturnal animals. They also use them to escape from spiderwebs- the scales fall off easily when stuck to webbing, so the moth can escape.
What is the fuzz on moths?
Moths are dusty because they are covered in minuscule scales. However, these scales are different from the kind you would find on a reptile such as a lizard or a snake. Instead, they are tiny, translucent scales only identifiable under a microscope.
What color are furry moths?
Furry moths are typically brown or gray, with fuzzy fur covering their bodies. Another way to identify them is by their color, and you can also look for small and round cocoons attached to clothing or other fabric items in your home.
What is a fuzzy moth?
Fluffy, furry, and fuzzy moths are species of moths that have a distinctive appearance due to specialized scales that give them a fluffy, furry, or fuzzy appearance. 2.
Which moth has a furry body?
The southern flannel moth is a small brown furry moth with six fuzzy legs and two antennae. Its body is covered in a ‘fur coat’ that can be dull orange, brown, or lemon yellow.
How can you tell if a moth is furry?
One way to identify fuzzy or furry moths is by their color. These moths are typically brown or gray, with fur covering their bodies. Additionally, you can often identify furry moths by the presence of cocoons in your home.
Where can I find furry moths?
Furry moths can be found worldwide, but they are most commonly found in temperate climates. In North America, some of the most common furry moth species include the European gypsy moth, the Pandorus Sphinx moth, and the Giant Leopard Moth.
How do fuzzy moths differ from furry moths?
The main difference between a fuzzy moth and a furry moth is that a furry moth has thick and distinctly fur-like scales, while a fuzzy moth has thinner and less noticeable scales. Most furry moths are not dangerous to humans.