BUTTERFLIES AND MOTHS

Dogbane Tiger Moth, Cycnia tenera

Order: Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Size: Wingspan 1 1⁄4–1 3⁄4"

Habitat: Meadows, roadsides, fields where dogbane is present

Range: Throughout the United States, most commonly in the eastern states

Also known as the Delicate Cycnia, the Dogbane Tiger Moth is a small to medium-size, ghostly, mostly nocturnal moth. It has the ability to communicate with other moths by echolocation, which is also thought to confuse bats who might prey on them. The upperside wings are pure white and nearly translucent, including the veins, except for a butter-yellow to golden strip along the leading edge of the forewing. The undersides are colored the same, with the addition of a dusky flush to the forewing just under the yellow strip. The head and sides of the thorax are bright yellow, the rest of the body is white, and there is a strip of black spots and yellow bands along the top and sides of the abdomen. The antennae are thin and lined black and white, as are the legs. The caterpillar is white to very pale brown or gray, and covered in long, soft hairs that arise from branching basal tufts. The caterpillar eats the leaves of the dogbane plant, milkweed, and Indian hemp.