Pink-striped oakworm moth

"Hi, I found this, so I brought it to you"

This is the phrase that I hear more than any other at MOSI Outside. This morning I was presented with a green and pink striped caterpillar, so I started the identification process. Thanks to pretty obvious stipes and coloring, I was able to narrow the process down considerably and confirm an identification in just a few moments.

The caterpillar in question is the larva of the Pink-striped Oakworm Moth (Anisota virginiensis) a member of the Wild Silk Moth (Saturniidae) family. This species hosts on oaks (as the name suggests), maples, birches and hazles. The adult moth is quite lovely with a fuzzy orange body and reddish to purplish wings.

This species can be found from Canada south to Florida and has one to two broods per year.

You can see more photos of these adult moths at the BAMONA website here.

In large groups, these caterpillars can entirely defoliate oak trees.

What's In A Name?

The genus name, Anisota comes from the Greek anisos (ανισος) "unequal" + ous, ot- (ους, ωτ-) "ear". Yeah, I don't get it either. The genus was named by German entomologist Jacob Hübner (20 June 1761 – 13 September 1826) so we won't have an opportunity to ask what he meants.

The specific epithet virginiensis relates to the species being found in the Virginias.