Lepidoptera The Gipsy Moth – Ocneria Dispar
The fore wings of the male are smoky brown, with darker markings, including a V-shaped black mark near the centre. The hind wings are brown, darker near the margin. The female is dingy yellowish white, with darker markings arranged as in the male. The male is much inferior in size, and its antenna are very strongly pectinated.
The larva is brownish black, finely dotted with yellowish grey. There is a grey stripe down the middle of the back, and six tubercles on each segment give rise to tufts of long hair. It feeds on the whitethorn (Cratagus oxyacantha), blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), and various fruit trees.
The caterpillar is full grown in June, and the moth appears in August.