Subject: Many small white eggs on Mission Manzanita
Location: Los Angeles, CA
March 10, 2017 6:44 pm
Hello! There are a few hundred tiny eggs on a leaf of a small mission manzanita (Zylococcus bicolor) in coastal Los Angeles, residential yard.
Spotted March 10, 2017. What could they be? Thank you!
Signature: Annelisa
Dear Annelisa,
We believe these are Moth Eggs, possibly Tiger Moth Eggs from the subfamily Arctiinae. BugGuide has images of a Tiger Moth Caterpillar on manzanita, but the species is only found as far west as Arizona. Perhaps a related species of Tiger Moth laid eggs on your manzanita. The eggs might also be from a moth in the family Saturniidae. According to Butterflies and Moths of North America, the Ceanothus Silkmoth uses manzanita as a food plant and the habitat of the moth is listed as “A wide variety of habitats including coastal areas, chaparral, and conifer forests.” The color of the Ceanothus Silkmoth eggs pictured on the Mendonoma Sightings site are brown, now white. Though we cannot provide a definitive species or even family, we will stick with Moth Eggs.
Thank you! We are just starting our native garden so are thrilled to already be creating habitat for wildlife. In the last few days the eggs have changed from white to beige. I’ll look forward to seeing what happens next.