Bug FAQContracted Datana Moth
Datana contracta · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Notodontidae
Also called: Contracted Datana
The contracted datana moth has a wingspan of about 35 to 50 mm. Its caterpillars feed on the leaves of blueberries, hickories, oaks, sycamore, witch-hazel and, in Alabama, water, laurel and sawtooth oaks.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
Wingspan ranges from 35 to 50 mm.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
In Alabama they have also been recorded on water, laurel and sawtooth oaks.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 33 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Massachusetts, Alabama, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Status: native in North America; native in Canada; native in United States. Source: iNaturalist
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
What plants do the caterpillars of the contracted datana eat?
They feed on leaves of blueberries, hickories, oaks, sycamore, witch-hazel and, in Alabama, water, laurel and sawtooth oaks.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Notodontidae)
White-dotted ProminentNadata gibbosa
Buff-tipPhalera bucephalaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Common Gluphisia MothGluphisia septentrionis
Pine Processionary-mothThaumetopoea pityocampaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Walnut Caterpillar MothDatana integerrimaDamages trees, gardens or crops
Unicorn ProminentCoelodasys unicornisDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datana_contracta
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.