Butterflies and Moths of North America

collecting and sharing data about Lepidoptera

  Sighting 1211454

Ranchman's Tiger Moth
Platyprepia virginalis

Observation date: May 12, 2019
Date notes: It was found at 10:30am. There is a glitch in the time field.
Submitted by: PirateSpots
Specimen type: Photograph
Observation notes: My daughter spotted the Ranchman's Tiger Moth caterpillar in the middle of the Hunsacker bike path near Sunset Park in Corvallis, OR. It was a hot sunny day. We picked it up and a passerby said it was a "Woolly Bear" caterpillar. I was not convinced. After researching it and narrowing my search to "Woolly Bear-like caterpillar with white hairs on back I correctly identified it as a Ranchman's Tiger Moth. We traveled with it in a homemade habitat up the Oregon Coast to University Place, WA where we raised it and released it today, June 23, 2019. It flew immediately way above the tall Douglas Fir pine trees and flew in a NE direction. My daughter loved her Ranchman's Tiger Moth and cried upon releasing it - sending it off with a private prayer.
Status: Resident
Verified by: Ken Davenport
Verified date: June 23, 2019
Coordinator notes: I changed your status to moth rather than caterpillar and agree it's a Ranchman's Tiger Moth, a species I collected in Bear Canyon Utah. I named it as a moth because that is what is pictured, but few can ID caterpillars, and there are few I can ID.
Checklist region(s): Benton County, Oregon, United States