''Spilosoma pteridis'', the brown tiger moth, is a

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

in the family

Erebidae The Erebidae are a family of moths in the superfamily Noctuoidea. The family is among the largest families of moths by species count and contains a wide variety of well-known macromoth groups. The family includes the underwings ('' Catocala'') ...

. It was described by Henry Edwards in 1875. It is found in the United States in western

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and northern

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

. The habitat consists of wet forests west of the Cascades, including coastal rainforests, low elevation mixed hardwood-conifer forests, as well as higher elevation conifer forests in the Cascades. The length of the forewings is 11–13 mm. The forewings are dark reddish grey, with a faint darker grey discal spot and lines. The hindwings are dark smoky grey. Adults are on wing from late spring to early August. The larvae probably feed on various herbaceous plants.

Subspecies

There are two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

:''Spilosoma pteridis''
at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *''Spilosoma pteridis pteridis'' *''Spilosoma pteridis rubra'' (Neumoegen, 1881)

References

External links

''Spilosoma pteridis'' at BOLD''Spilosoma pteridis'' at EOL''Spilosoma pteridis'' at BHL
Moths described in 1875 pteridis {{Spilosoma-stub