#2972 · 🦋 butterflies & moths

Fall Webworm Moth

Hyphantria cunea

🦋 Butterflies & moths 📍 in Europe, not in NL

8 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

what is it?

The fall webworm ( Hyphantria cunea ) is a moth in the family Erebidae known principally for its larval stage, which creates the characteristic webbed nests on the tree limbs of a wide variety of hardwoods in the late summer and fall. It is mainly an aesthetic pest and is not believed to harm otherwise healthy trees. It is well known to commercial tree services and arboriculturists.

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 83,031iNaturalist 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.
83,031 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Dru Drury in 1773 (253 years ago).