Animal profile

Spongy Moth

Lymantria dispar

InsectaBroadleaf forest, especially oak-dominated woodland

Field profile

A defoliating moth whose caterpillars strip the leaves of oaks and many other broadleaf trees. Females of the European lineage are large, pale and flightless, while males fly by day and night. It is one of the most damaging forest insects introduced to North America.

Published field notes

2024-10-24

Spongy Moth

Its caterpillars spread by hanging on silk

European spongy moth females cannot fly, so the species disperses as newly hatched caterpillars that spin a silk thread and let the wind carry them. That thread is how a flightless insect crossed a continent.

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