Brown-tail moth: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the brown-tail moth lives – recorded in 16 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Euproctis chrysorrhoea
Group	Butterflies & moths
Found in	16 countries
Continents	Europe
Class	Insect
Order	Lepidoptera
Family	Erebidae

Where does the brown-tail moth live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the brown-tail moth in 16 countries and territories across Europe.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the brown-tail moth?

The brown-tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) is an insect in the order Lepidoptera and the family Erebidae, genus Euproctis. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the brown-tail moth

The brown-tail moth (Euproctis chrysorrhoea) is a moth of the family Erebidae. It is native to Europe, neighboring countries in Asia, and the north coast of Africa. Descriptions of outbreaks, i.e., large population increases of several years duration, have been reported as far back as the 1500s. The life cycle of the moth is atypical, in that it spends approximately nine months (August to April) as larvae (caterpillars), leaving about one month each for pupae, imagos and eggs. Larvae (caterpillars) are covered in hairs. Two red spots on the back, toward the tail, distinguish these species from other similarly hairy moth larvae. The winged adults have white wings and a hairy white body with a tuft of brown hair at the tip of the abdomen. Females lay one egg cluster, usually on the underside of a leaf of a host plant. The species is polyphagous, meaning that it feeds on many different species of trees, including pear, apple, maple and oak.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Brown-tail moth (revision 1339957246), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q45902 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).