Moth Looks EXACTLY Like Those Adorable Woolly Bear Caterpillars

photo: yakfur

Habitat: native to Asia and an invasive species in the United States, where it has been found in Maryland and Virginia
Status: No Conservation Concerns

When you guys were younger did you ever come across those big fuzzy caterpillars, affectionately dubbed ‘Woolly Bears?’ I remember when I was little and found one… I just thought it was the coolest thing! Then my mom told me woolly bear caterpillars would only look like that for a little while, before they turned into moths. I was sad it would lose its cute fuzziness. I wish I had known back then that these moths existed!

The Euonymus Leaf Notcher (Pryeria sinica) is an adult moth of the Zygaenidae family that looks like a woolly bear caterpillar all grown up! Awesome. Not so awesome is the fact that they have become an invasive species in the U.S… but I’ll let that go for now. I’m just happy I get to see my fuzzy-wuzzy woolly bear caterpillars all grown up as a different species!