Moths of North Carolina
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View PDFErebidae Members: Euchaetes Members: 121 NC Records

Euchaetes egle (Drury, 1773) - Milkweed Tussock Moth


Euchaetes egleEuchaetes egleEuchaetes egle
Taxonomy
Superfamily:
Noctuoidea
Family:
Erebidae
Subfamily:
Arctiinae
Tribe:
Arctiini
P3 Number:
930412
MONA Number:
8238.00
Comments: One of twelve species in this genus that occur in North America (Lafontaine and Schmidt, 2010), and the only one that is found in North Carolina
Identification
Field Guide Descriptions: Covell (1984); Beadle and Leckie (2012)Online Resources: MPG, BugGuide, iNaturalist, Google, BAMONA, GBIF, BOLDTechnical Description, Adults: Forbes (1960)Technical Description, Immature Stages: Forbes (1960); Wagner (2005)                                                                                 
Adult Markings: Larger but similar in coloration to both Pygarctia abdominalis and Pagara simplex, with wings predominantly gray and abdomen yellow or orange with a mid-dorsal row of black dots. Apart from the abdomen, egle is completely gray, lacking the yellow or orange marks on the head found in both abdominalis and simplex and also lacking the similarly colored marks found on the thorax of abdominalis.
Adult ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos of unworn specimens.
Immatures and Development: The larvae are very distinctively marked tussock caterpillars, with orange tufts running down dorsally and subdorsally along the abdomen, flanked with black tufts laterally, and with longer black and white pencils located at both ends of the body. The larvae of Lophocampa maculata are similar in color but have yellow on the sides of the abdomen and a row of mid-dorsal black tufts running down the middle of the back; L. maculata also lacks the black pencils at the ends of the body and feeds on species other than milkweeds.
Larvae ID Requirements: Identifiable from good quality photos, especially where associated with known host plants.
Distribution in North Carolina
Distribution: Possibly occurs throughout the state but with many counties lacking records
County Map: Clicking on a county returns the records for the species in that county.
Euchaetes egleAlamance Alexander Alleghany Anson Ashe Avery Beaufort Bertie Bladen Brunswick Buncombe Burke Cabarrus Caldwell Camden Carteret Caswell Catawba Chatham Cherokee Chowan Clay Cleveland Columbus Craven Cumberland Currituck Dare Davidson Davie Duplin Durham Edgecombe Forsyth Franklin Gaston Gates Graham Granville Greene Guilford Halifax Harnett Haywood Henderson Hertford Hoke Hyde Iredell Jackson Johnston Jones Lee Lenoir Lincoln Macon Madison Martin McDowell Mecklenburg Mitchell Montgomery Moore Nash New%20Hanover Northampton Onslow Orange Pamlico Pasquotank Pender Perquimans Person Pitt Polk Randolph Richmond Robeson Rockingham Rowan Rutherford Sampson Scotland Stanly Stokes Surry Swain Transylvania Tyrrell Union Vance Wake Warren Washington Watauga Wayne Wilkes Wilson Yadkin Yancey
Flight Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: adults.
Immature Dates:
 High Mountains (HM) ≥ 4,000 ft.
 Low Mountains (LM) < 4,000 ft.
 Piedmont (Pd)
 Coastal Plain (CP)

Click on graph to enlarge
Image showing flight dates by month for High Mountains greater than 4,000 feet, Low Mountains, Piedmont, and Coastal Plain: immatures.
Flight Comments: Wagner (2005) states there are two flights over most of its range but our data are too few to make out a clear pattern
Habitats and Life History
Habitats: Records from the Mountains and Piedmont come from both riparian and ridgetop habitats, including open sites and closed canopy forests. In the Coastal Plain, the few records we have come from bottomland forests but with either an herbaceous ground cover present or open habitats located close by.
Larval Host Plants: The larvae feed only on milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) (Wagner, 2005). As of 2024, we have feeding records for Poke Milkweed (A. exaltata), Swamp Milkweed (A. incarnata), Common Milkweed (A. syriaca) and Butterfly Milkweed (A. tuberosa). - View
Observation Methods: Appears to come fairly well to blacklights with up to 20 having been observed at a sheet on a given occasion. None of our records come from bait. The larvae are easy to spot during the day as they feed on milkweeds.
Wikipedia
See also Habitat Account for Open Apocynaceous Forblands
Status in North Carolina
Natural Heritage Program Status:
Natural Heritage Program Ranks: G5 SN [S4S5]
State Protection: Has no legal protection, although permits are required to collect it on state parks and other public lands
Comments: Uncommon but apparently widely distributed across the state and making use of a wide variety of habitats; appears to be secure

 Photo Gallery for Euchaetes egle - Milkweed Tussock Moth

58 photos are available. Only the most recent 30 are shown.
Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Geni Carico on 2025-07-17
Randolph Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-24
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-24
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2025-06-24
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2024-08-17
Buncombe Co.
Comment: On Poke Milkweed (Asclepias exaltata).
Euchaetes egleRecorded by: David George, Jeff Niznik, Patrick Coin, Steve Hall, Carol Tingley, Tom Howard on 2024-07-27
Chatham Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Stephen Dunn on 2024-06-28
Orange Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-26
Yancey Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Mark Basinger on 2024-06-26
Yancey Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Emily Stanley on 2024-06-03
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Owen McConnell on 2024-05-26
Graham Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Jim Petranka, Mark Basinger and Becky Elkin on 2024-05-16
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: tom ward on 2023-09-19
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Morgan Freese on 2023-08-06
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-08-05
Wake Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Dean Furbish on 2023-08-05
Wake Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Dawn-Michelle Oliver on 2023-07-30
Caswell Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Dawn-Michelle Oliver on 2023-07-30
Caswell Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Dawn-Michelle Oliver on 2023-07-30
Caswell Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-07-27
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2023-06-24
Buncombe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Chuck Smith on 2022-09-13
Davidson Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Chuck Smith on 2022-08-19
Davidson Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2022-06-13
Madison Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: G. Schneider on 2021-08-17
Ashe Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Jim Petranka and Becky Elkin on 2021-08-14
Madison Co.
Comment: Large numbers were feeding on Common Milkweed.
Euchaetes egleRecorded by: David George on 2021-08-09
Alamance Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-06
Madison Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: Jim Petranka on 2021-07-06
Madison Co.
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Euchaetes egleRecorded by: tom ward on 2021-06-30
Buncombe Co.
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