Orizaba Silk Moth vs Scalloped Hook-tip

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Orizaba Silk Moth Scalloped Hook-tip
Scientific Name Rothschildia orizaba Falcaria lacertinaria
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Saturniidae Drepanidae
Size 110-145 mm 30-38 mm wingspan
Habitat Forests Heathland
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Mexico, Central America, southwestern United States Europe, temperate Asia, Japan
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Orizaba Silk Moth

A magnificent New World silk moth with large reddish-brown wings bearing conspicuous triangular clear windows. It was historically reared for its silk in parts of Mexico.

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Did You Know?

Indigenous peoples of Mexico once used the silk from Rothschildia orizaba cocoons to weave a coarse fabric, making it one of the few New World silk moths commercially utilized.

Scalloped Hook-tip

A small moth with strongly curved wingtips and scalloped wing margins that rests resembling a dead leaf. Its mottled brown and grey colouring completes the disguise.

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Did You Know?

The hooked wing tips are unique among moth families and give the Drepanidae their alternative name, hook-tips.