Freaky bug
Location: douglasville georgia
May 29, 2011 12:30 am
I have no idea what these bugs are but they are all over my house and yard. I live in georgia and they appeared aroind may 26th.
Signature: Damisha Truitt
Hi Damisha,
This is a Moth known as the Spotted Apatelodes, Apatelodes torrefacta, and it is perfectly harmless. They do not even feed as adults since they do not have working mouth parts. We are intrigued that they have appeared in such numbers. According to BugGuide, the caterpillars feed upon the leaves of “ash (Fraxinus), cherry (Prunus), maple (Acer), oak (Quercus).” Perhaps you had a large caterpillar population last season on your nearby trees, and though you did not notice the caterpillars, they eventually metamorphosed into a new generation that recently emerged as adults. Here is a link to a photo of the Caterpillar. Does it look familiar?
My grandson and I found one of these on Oct. 7 and put in in a clear plastic container with leaves and airholes so he could watch it. The next morning it had formed a cacoon.