Royal Walnut Moth vs Mountain Pine Beetle

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute	Royal Walnut Moth	Mountain Pine Beetle
Scientific Name	Citheronia sepulcralis	Dendroctonus ponderosae
Order	Lepidoptera	Coleoptera
Family	Saturniidae	Curculionidae
Size	75-100 mm	4-7 mm
Habitat	Forests	Forests
Diet	Omnivores	Wood Feeders
Regions	Southeastern United States	North America
Conservation	Least Concern	Least Concern

Royal Walnut Moth

A rich brown moth with orange veins and small yellow spots. It is closely related to the regal moth but smaller and darker, found in southeastern pine forests.

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Did You Know?

Citheronia sepulcralis is restricted to the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains and is far less commonly encountered than its more famous relative, the regal moth.

Mountain Pine Beetle

A small dark brown bark beetle that bores into pine trees to lay eggs beneath the bark. Massive outbreaks have devastated millions of hectares of North American forests.

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Did You Know?

Mountain pine beetles carry blue stain fungi that block water transport in trees, turning the wood a distinctive blue-gray color.