Teak Defoliator Moth vs Face Fly

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Teak Defoliator Moth Face Fly
Scientific Name Hyblaea puera Musca autumnalis
Order Lepidoptera Diptera
Family Hyblaeidae Muscidae
Size 30-40 mm wingspan 7-8 mm
Habitat Farmland Farmland
Diet Nectar Feeders Omnivores
Regions South Asia (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal) Europe, North America
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Teak Defoliator Moth

A medium-sized moth with orange-brown forewings and bright orange hindwings bordered in black. Its caterpillars are the most devastating defoliators of teak plantations across South Asia, stripping trees bare.

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Did You Know?

During outbreak years, entire teak forests turn brown as millions of caterpillars strip every leaf, though the trees typically refoliate.

Face Fly

A non-biting muscid fly that feeds on secretions around the eyes and nose of cattle. It is a mechanical vector of the cattle pinkeye pathogen Moraxella bovis.

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Did You Know?

It enters homes in large numbers each autumn to overwinter, hence the name autumnalis.