Sheep moth

{{Short description|Species of moth}}

{{Speciesbox

| name = Sheep moth

| image = Hemileuca eglanterina - California.jpg

| taxon = Hemileuca eglanterina

| authority = Boisduval, 1852

| image2 =

}}

The sheep moth, or common sheep moth (Hemileuca eglanterina), is a member of the family Saturniidae of silk moths and is native to western North America. In California, its range is west of the Sierran crest{{cite book |author=Jerry A. Powell, Charles L. Hogue |title=California Insects |publisher=University of California Press |year=1981 |isbn=9780520037823 |pages=230 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vE-u08itGrAC&pg=PA230&dq=sheep+moth}} and the mountains of Southern California, ranging near to the coast.{{cite web |url=http://www.calflora.net/butterflies/commonsheepmoth.html |author=Michael L. Charters |title=Common sheep moth |work=Butterflies and Moths of Southern California |location=Sierra Madre, California |date=May 18, 2009 |accessdate=February 25, 2010}} The moth is dayflying and appears in summer. It feeds on plants of three genera: Ceanothus, Rhamnus (including coffeeberry), and Rosa. Nuttall's sheep moth and one other species are similar, occurring in sagebrush areas east of the Sierra Nevada. The species was first described by Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1852.{{cite web |last=Savela |first=Markku |url=http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/bombycoidea/saturniidae/hemileucinae/hemileuca/#eglanterina |title=Hemileuca eglanterina (Boisduval, 1852) |website=Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms |accessdate=November 9, 2018}}

The sheep moth has a 5.5-8.5 centimeter wingspan and a relatively slender body. Its forewings are pink with a yellow streak in the middle and the hindwings are yellowish with variable black markings. There is an all-black form near Mount Shasta. The larvae are black with branched yellowish spines that become orange in later development and an orange-brown head.