Ivela auripes is a pure white East Asian moth that flies in daytime groups and is often mistaken for a white butterfly. Its name comes from its yellow legs. It is not found in the United States.
Appearance
- Appearance
- Plain, slightly see-through white wings spanning about 2 in (5–5.7 cm), with bright yellow legs. Males have darker wing veins and edges.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- mountain forests
- forest edges
- Range
- Native to Japan, the Korean Peninsula, China, and Siberia. There are no records of it in North America.
Behavior
- Activity
- Adults fly by day around their food trees in early summer and live only a few days. Their mouthparts are reduced, so they do not feed.
- Overwintering
- It spends the winter as eggs laid on tree bark. There is one generation a year.
Life cycle
- Larva
- Full-grown caterpillars are about 1.5 in (3.5–4 cm) long, black with rows of yellow spots.
- Caterpillar food plants
- Caterpillars feed on the leaves of giant dogwood (Cornus controversa) and, in Japan, a close relative, Cornus macrophylla.
Cautions
- Cautions
- Despite being a tussock moth, it lacks the irritating stinging hairs that some of its relatives have.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- NENot EvaluatedNot yet assessed
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