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#3092 · 🦋 butterflies & moths

Ailanthus Webworm Moth

Atteva aurea

🦋 Butterflies & moths 📍 outside Europe
9 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
  1. 1. © Glen Peterson · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
  2. 2. © Cynthia Potter · CC BY-NC 4.0
  3. 3. © Judy Gallagher · CC BY 4.0
  4. 4. © Julie Travaglini · CC BY 4.0
  5. 5. © Mark Rosenstein · CC BY-NC 4.0
  6. 6. © Ken-ichi Ueda · CC BY 4.0
  7. 7. © Judy Gallagher · CC BY 4.0
  8. 8. © Zihao Wang · CC BY 4.0
  9. 9. © Zihao Wang · CC BY 4.0
Ailanthus Webworm Moth, photo 1 of 9
1/9 © Glen Peterson · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

what is it?

The ailanthus webworm ( Atteva aurea ) is an ermine moth now found commonly in the United States. It was formerly known under the scientific name Atteva punctella (see Taxonomy section). This small, very colorful moth resembles a true bug or beetle when not in flight, but in flight it resembles a wasp.

base stats

  • NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
  • worldwide 67,749iNaturalist observations

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

  • No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
  • 67,749 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
  • Scientifically named in 1856 (170 years ago).

fact sheet

English
Ailanthus Webworm Moth
scientific name
Atteva aurea
class
Insecta
order
Lepidoptera
family
Attevidae
sightings in NL
0
sightings worldwide
67,749
GBIF records in NL
0
weight
—
length
—
lifespan
—
named
1856

Sources: iNaturalist taxon 116681, Wikidata Q2180558, GBIF 1830674, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.

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