| Lackey Malacosoma neustria |
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|---|---|
| Adult with light coloration | |
| Malacosoma neustria formosana | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Lasiocampidae |
| Genus: | Malacosoma |
| Species: | M. neustria |
| Binomial name | |
| Malacosoma neustria (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria) is common across southern Britain and central Europe. Malacosoma species are notable for their caterpillars which are brightly coloured and form silken tents to regulate their temperature. Malacosoma neustria caterpillars are brown with blue, orange and white stripes. The adults are a fairly uniform brown. The larvae feed mainly on trees and shrubs from within their tents.
In Britain the flight period is from July to August.