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Sticker of Tulip-tree beauty
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Tulip-tree beauty

Epimecis hortaria
Eats: PlantsMothsForests and woods6 legs

The tulip-tree beauty is a big moth with grey and brown wings covered in fine wavy lines, like a pencil drawing. When it rests on tree bark it is very hard to see. It flies at night and likes to visit lights.

Lives in
Eastern North America, from New England to Florida and west to Texas
Wingspan
4.3 to 5.5 cm (1.7 to 2.2 in)
Top speed
about 16 km/h (9.9 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of trees like magnolia, poplar, sassafras and the tulip tree.
For real!Photo of Tulip-tree beauty
Picture by Cyndy Sims Parr. CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Tulip-tree beauty wings about 5.5 cm tip to tip (2.2 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
wings as wide as 1.5 toy building brickscould fly across a whole football pitch in 24 seconds

How big is Tulip-tree beauty compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

It is one of the biggest moths in its family, the geometer moths.

2

It comes in two looks: a lighter one and a much darker one with white edges.

3

You can see it flying from late March all the way to early October.

4

Its thick caterpillar is grey to brown with fine stripes and little orange dots along its sides.

you asked

Most asked questions about Tulip-tree beauty

?How big is the tulip-tree beauty?

Its wings are about 4.3 to 5.5 centimetres from tip to tip.

?What does the tulip-tree beauty eat?

Its caterpillars eat leaves of magnolia, poplar, sassafras and tulip trees.

?Is the tulip-tree beauty dangerous?

No, it is a harmless moth.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Epimecis hortaria
Named by
Fabricius, 1794
Group
Moths
Family
Geometridae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Epimecis hortaria (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Cyndy Sims Parr. CC BY-SA 2.0, 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.

More from the same group: Moths

Also at home here: Forests and woods