"Tussock" refers to the clumps of hair on my back
When I grow up, if you see me fly, I'm male
If I'm a girl functional wings I will lack!
Note: This is specifically a Southern Tussock Moth caterpillar. I spent hours researching Southern Tussock Moths, and there really isn't much written about them. I was trying specifically to find out if their hairs are venomous like some Tussock Moth Caterpillars.
I never did find a definitive answer to that, but I did find out that in some species of Tussock, after the female Tussock Moths come out of the Cocoon, they have little tiny wings that can't be used for flying. They pretty much just wait for a male to come around, mate, lay eggs on top of their cocoon, then die. I then spent WAY too long trying to find out if Southern Tussock Moths fall into this category, but I could not find a definitive answer to that either. But at least I did find a very cool, free archive online where I came across some great resources listed below.
Sources: All of the following can be found here in the book/text section: https://archive.org/
- Do butterflies bite? : fascinating answers to questions about butterflies and moths by Davies, Hazel
- Caterpillars of Eastern North America : a guide to identification and natural history by Wagner, David L.
- The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 1889-2012 (not related to anything in this post, but a cool archive nonetheless)
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