Giant leopard moth
The giant leopard moth is a big snow-white moth covered in neat black spots and rings, like a leopard. Under its wings its tummy is dark blue with orange marks. Its caterpillar is a black, bristly woolly bear.
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Fun facts
Some of its black spots are filled in and some are hollow rings.
The moth only flies at night, after it gets dark.
When the caterpillar is scared, it rolls into a ball and shows bright red or orange bands between its bristles.
It takes two whole years to go from egg to moth.
The caterpillar spends the winter hiding, often under the bark of rotting wood.
Most asked questions about Giant leopard moth
?Is the giant leopard moth caterpillar poisonous?
No. Its bristles look prickly, but they do not sting or cause itching.
?How big is the giant leopard moth?
Its wings measure about 7.6 centimetres across.
?What does the giant leopard moth caterpillar eat?
Leafy plants like plantains, dandelions and violets.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Hypercompe scribonia
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Giant leopard moth (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Jeremy Johnson. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.
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