![]() ![]() Egg masses are protected by hairs from the female’s cocoon and are covered by a frothy secretion produced during egg laying.Īll species overwinter as eggs. They cannot be identified to species without genetic analysis. Adult females possess minute, stubby wings and are not capable of flight. Adult males of the three species are similar and require detailed inspection to separate. The wings possess subtle darker bands, circular patterns and white highlights near the rear of each wing. Adult males of all species are mottled brown or brownish gray, broad-winged moths up to 1 inch (25 mm) in length when at rest. Caterpillars pupate within a white or off-white cocoon surrounded and protected by the spiky hairs of the last larval exoskeleton. ![]() Caterpillars of the definite tussock moth are overall more yellow, with yellow heads and warts. The head of the fir tussock moth is also red, but the warts along the sides are orange. The head of the white-marked tussock moth caterpillar is bright red or reddish orange, and the warts along the sides of the abdomen are yellow. The head may be red, yellow or orange, and the body varies from yellow to dark gray. The ground color of the body and head also varies with species. A series of bumps or “warts” along the bodies varies in color with species and is important in distinguishing species. In addition, they bear a series of four dense, short, pale-colored tufts of hair along the midline in the front half of the body. Caterpillars are distinctive, bearing three long “pencils” of setae, two extending forward, well beyond the front of the head, and a third extending at an angle up and back from the rear of the abdomen. The larvae are medium-sized caterpillars that reach a length of approximately 1.5 inches (38 mm) when mature. At least three similar species occur in Louisiana, the “white-marked tussock moth” ( Orygia leucostigma), the “fir tussock moth” ( Orygia detrita) and the “definite tussock moth” ( Orygia definita). ![]()
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