Estigmene acrea

The salt marsh moth or acrea moth (Estigmene acrea) is a North American moth.  It is in the family Arctiidae.  The caterpillar is known as the 'salt marsh caterpillar'.

 Description 

The head and thorax are white.  The abdomen is yellow-orange with a row of black spots.  The fore wing (the top wing) is white with a variable amount of black spots (some individuals do not have these spots).  The hind wing (the bottom wing) is yellow-orange in males.  It is white in females.  Both sexes have 3-4 black spots or blotches on their hind wings.  The wingspan ranges from 4.5 to 6.8 cm.Charles V. Covell, Jr. 2005.  Moths of Eastern North America.  Virginia Museum of Natural History, Martinsville, VA.  

 Flight 
This moth may be seen from May to August.  It is seen all year in southern Florida and southern Texas.David L. Wagner 2005.  Caterpillars of Eastern North America.  Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.  

 Life cycle 

The eggs are a yellowish color.  They are laid in clusters on the host plant leaves.  The Salt Marsh Caterpillar is highly variable in color.  It ranges from pale yellow to dark brownish-black.  It has many soft hairs.  The hairs are longer towards the end of the body.  The thoracic and abdominal segments have a few rows of either orange or black warts.  The chrysalis hibernates in a cocoon.

 Host plants 
Here is a list of host plants that the salt marsh caterpillar feeds on:

 Cabbage
 Cotton
 Juglans sp. - walnut
 Malus domestica - Apple
 Nicotiana tabacum - Tobacco
 Pisum sativum - Pea
 Solanum tuberosum - Potato
 Trifolium sp. - clover
 Zea mays - Corn

 References 

Category:Arctiidae