The White-Spotted Tussock Moth (Orgyia thyellina) is a species of moth

Moth

A moth is an insect closely related to the butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. Moths form the majority of this order; there are thought to be 150,000 to 250,000 different species of moth , with thousands of species yet to be described...

 of the Lymantriidae

Lymantriidae

Lymantriidae is a family of moths. Many of its component species are referred to as "Tussock moths" of one sort or another. The caterpillar, or larval, stage of these species often has a distinctive appearance of alternating bristles and haired projections...

 family. It is native to the Russian Far East

Russian Far East

Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

, Taiwan

Taiwan

Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...

 and China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. It was discovered in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 in 1996. Operation Ever Green was established that same year to eradicate the pest. By 1998 the species was eradicated. It is thought of as one of the most successful eradication programmes ever undertaken in an urban area.

The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 21-29 mm for males and 30-42 mm for females of the first two generations. The first two generations produce winged female moths. The last generation of females is flightless. Male adults are usually grey to black with one white spot on each wing. Females are generally creamy white with a dark spot on the wings.

The larvae mainly feed on Rosaceae

Rosaceae

Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...

 species, including mulberry Morus

Morus

Morus may refer to:* Morus , a genus of trees* Morus , a genus of seabird in the family Sulidae* Thomas Morus, alias Thomas More, a philosopher...

, Pyrus, Prunus avium

Prunus avium

Prunus avium, commonly called wild cherry, sweet cherry, bird cherry, or gean, is a species of cherry, native to Europe, west Turkey, northwest Africa, and western Asia, from the British Isles south to Morocco and Tunisia, north to the Trondheimsfjord region in Norway and east to the Caucasus, and...

, Prunus domestica

Prunus domestica

Prunus domestica is a Prunus species with many varieties. These are often called "plums" in common English, though not all plums belong to this species. Its hybrid parentage is believed to be Prunus spinosa and Prunus cerasifera var. divaricata...

and Malus

Malus

Malus , the apples, are a genus of about 30–35 species of small deciduous trees or shrubs in the family Rosaceae. Other studies go as far as 55 species including the domesticated Orchard Apple, or Table apple as it was formerly called...

. Other recorded foodplants include Rosa

Rosa

The name Rosa, Latin and botanic name of the flowering shrub Rose, could refer to:-Places:*223 Rosa, an asteroid*Rosa, Alabama, USA*Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, Germany*Roşia Nouă village, Petriş Commune, Arad County, Romania-Other uses:...

, Prunus persica, Salix, Betula, Quercus, Acer negundo

Acer negundo

Acer negundo is a species of maple native to North America. Box Elder, Boxelder Maple, and Maple Ash are its most common names in the United States...

, Wisteria

Wisteria

Wisteria is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that includes ten species of woody climbing vines native to the eastern United States and to China, Korea, and Japan. Aquarists refer to the species Hygrophila difformis, in the family Acanthaceae, as Water Wisteria...

, Kennedia

Kennedia

Kennedia is a genus of plants comprising 16 species, all native to Australia. They are evergreen climbing plants with woody stems. Thet usually have trifoliate leaves and pea-type flowers of various colours from pink to dark red and yellow to black...

, Clianthus puniceus

Clianthus puniceus

Clianthus puniceus, commonly known as Kaka beak , is a woody legume shrub native to New Zealand's North Island. It is one of two species of Clianthus , both of which have striking clusters of red flowers which resemble the beak of the Kākā, a New Zealand parrot...

and Citrus x paradisi. They are blackish and strongly setose, with a red line along each side and four tufts of pale hairs along the back. The male larvae have five instars while female larvae have six.