Organic Landscapes - Wildlife and Landscape Photography

Western Tussock Moth Caterpillar - Ojai - California

Insect and Arthropod Photography

Finding the beauty around us - Image Showcase

Western Tussock Moth Female

Western Tussock Moth Female emerging, Ojai, California.

Original image 30.1 Mp - Cropped image 2160 x 2008

Western Tussock Moth Caterpillar

Western Tussock Moth Caterpillar, Ojai, California.

Original image 20.1 Mp - Cropped image 2320 x 1768

The Western Tussock Moth Caterpillar eats leaves and fruit, and it eats them from a lot of plants. And those beautiful long hairs can cause an allergic reaction too. Mine lasted a couple of days. Western Tussock Moths Caterpillars eat Ceanothus, Oaks (Quercus), Apples, Citrus, Peaches, Roses, Buckwheat, Willow, Adenostoma, Manzanita, Pyracantha, Coffee Berry, and on this ornmental plum pictured here. There are one to two broods per year depending on how long the growing season is. Usually they are out by February and gone by June. The Western Tussock Moth Caterpillar can be an economic pest for nurseries and orchards. The adult females are flightless, you can see the tiny wings of this emerging moth.

Plant Hosts

Adenostoma fasciculatum
Anna Apple
Arctostaphylos edmundsii Danville
Arctostaphylos edmundsii Little Sur
Arctostaphylos Howard McMinn
Arctostaphylos insularis
Arctostaphylos Lester Rowntree
Arctostaphylos John Dourley
Arctostaphylos Pacific Mist
Ceanothus Centennial
Ceanothus Concha
Ceanothus crassifolius
Ceanothus Dark Star
Ceanothus Far Horizons
Ceanothus Frosty Dawn
Ceanothus Gentian Plume
Ceanothus gloriosus Anchor Bay
Ceanothus greggii
Ceanothus hearstiorum
Ceanothus Joan Mirov
Ceanothus Joyce Coulter
Ceanothus megacarpus
Ceanothus oliganthus sorediatus
Ceanothus Point Sierra
Ceanothus Ray Hartman
Ceanothus Sierra Snow
Ceanothus Snowball
Ceanothus Snow Flurry
Ceanothus Tassajara Blue
Ceanothus Wheeler Canyon
Ceanothus Yankee Point
Eriogonum arborescens
Eriogonum cinereum
Eriogonum crocatum
Eriogonum fasciculatum
Eriogonum fasciculatum Warriner Lytle
Eriogonum giganteum
Eriogonum grande rubescens
Eriogonum incanum
Eriogonum latifolium
Eriogonum umbellatum
Eriogonum wrightii
Quercus agrifolia
Quercus berberidifolia
Quercus douglasii
Quercus durata
Quercus garryana
Quercus kelloggii
Quercus lobata
Quercus muelhlenbergii
Rhamnus californica
Rhamnus crocea
Rosa banksiae
Rosa californica
Rosa hugonis
Rosa minutifolia
Rosa laevigata
Rosa mutabilis
Royal Apricot

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Photographs by Martin Fletcher

Organic-Landscape located at:

2076 Los Encinos Rd

Ojai CA 93023


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Last modified: February 5, 2021