Buff Ermine

Spilosoma lutea · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Erebidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Buff Ermine
Photo: Aah-Yeah, CC BY

The Buff Ermine moth has a wingspan of about 34 to 42 mm and buff-yellow wings marked with dark spots, though the amount of black varies widely. It lives across the temperate Palearctic, is attracted to light, and flies from May to July in Britain, overwintering as a pupa.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan is roughly 34 to 42 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

Overwinters as a pupa.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Sometimes placed in the genus Spilosoma.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Erebidae)

Spongy MothSpongy MothLymantria disparDamages trees, gardens or cropsFall Webworm MothFall Webworm MothHyphantria cuneaDamages trees, gardens or cropsBrown-tail MothBrown-tail MothEuproctis chrysorrhoeaCan irritate skinIsabella Tiger MothIsabella Tiger MothPyrrharctia isabellaVirginian Tiger MothVirginian Tiger MothSpilosoma virginicaCan irritate skinSalt Marsh MothSalt Marsh MothEstigmene acrea

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff_ermine

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.