Brown-tail
This moth's caterpillars carry urticating hairs that can drift on the wind, causing skin rashes and breathing trouble in people who never touch them directly.
| Where | Scrub, hedgerows and gardens |
|---|---|
| Size | 36 to 42 mm wingspan |
| When | April to August |
The Brown-tail is a white moth with a tuft of brown hairs at the tip of the abdomen, more pronounced in females, which use it to cover their eggs after laying.
It flies from April to August over scrub, hedgerows and gardens, and its caterpillars live communally in silk webs on hawthorn and blackthorn. The caterpillars carry urticating hairs that readily break off and cause skin and respiratory irritation.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
White, Brown
Active
Night
To people
Take care
Caterpillar hairs are strongly urticating and can cause skin rashes and breathing difficulties; avoid handling the hairy caterpillars or their nests.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar size at about 35 to 45 mm wingspan and equally white, but the Yellow-tail has a golden yellow tail tuft rather than the Brown-tail's dark brown one.
Questions
Is the Brown-tail dangerous to people?
Take care. Caterpillar hairs are strongly urticating and can cause skin rashes and breathing difficulties; avoid handling the hairy caterpillars or their nests.
When can you see the Brown-tail?
The Brown-tail can be seen from April to August, at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by Didier Descouens, CC BY‑SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
The plate on this page is shared under the same licence as its source, CC BY-SA.
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Butterflies and moths›Erebid moths›Euproctis
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.