Lophocampa argentata

Silver-spotted Tiger Moth

The caterpillars are gregarious, feeding while small in a tight group through fall and winter on Douglas Fir, and dispersing a little when they are full grown in spring. Willow and alder are occasional alternative foodplants, but their first choice is Douglas Fir, and indeed their distribution largely follows that of the Douglas Fir. Pupation is in a silken cocoon with caterpillar hairs mixed in, and emergence of the adult moth occurs after about three or four weeks as a pupa. This and the next species were formerly placed in the genus Halysidota.