Tulip-tree beauty
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.
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Fun facts
It is one of the biggest moths in its family, the geometer moths.
It comes in two looks: a lighter one and a much darker one with white edges.
You can see it flying from late March all the way to early October.
Its thick caterpillar is grey to brown with fine stripes and little orange dots along its sides.
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
- 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.
- 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 [email protected] and we will fix it.
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