Last fall we had a period of a few weeks where we were seeing everywhere little white caterpillars with black running stripes. A bit of research revealed them to be Hickory Tussock Moths, and given the number of caterpillars we saw, I had a feeling that this would be a common species at my lights when they emerged the following year. Sure enough, I’m starting to see quite a number coming in every night. The above is the adult version of those white-and-black caterpillars, a striking tan moth with silvery white spots. A couple moths have this basic theme, but the base colour and the shape and pattern of the spots is different for each.
The Hickory Tussock Moth has an interesting pattern of distribution, from Texas to Nova Scotia but not including the southeast or the northern plains. As the name suggests, the larvae feed on hickories, but they also like maples, oaks, ashes, elms, and other deciduous species. The adults can be locally common, and fly in a relatively narrow window in the spring, May to June.