Lackey moth
Malacosoma neustria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Status not recordedbutterflies and moths
The lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria) is an insect in the butterflies and moths group, belonging to the family Lasiocampidae. It is classified in the order Lepidoptera, superfamily Lasiocampoidea, subfamily Malacosominae and genus Malacosoma.
Quick facts about the lackey moth
Its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758), and it is also called the Lackey or The lackey.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Generations a year
- Onesrc for Generations a year
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the lackey moth
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the lackey moth live?
Not recorded
What is the lackey moth?
The lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria) is a moth in the family Lasiocampidae. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is common across southern Britain and central Europe. Malacosoma species are notable for their caterpillars which are brightly coloured and form silken tents to regulate their temperature. Malacosoma neustria caterpillars are brown with blue, orange and white stripes. The adults are a fairly uniform brown. The larvae feed mainly on trees and shrubs from within their tents.
From the Wikipedia article “Lackey moth” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lackey_moth&oldid=1306401413), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the lackey moth endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the lackey moth classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familyLasiocampidae
- genusMalacosoma
- SpeciesMalacosoma neustria (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Bombyx bilineatus, Bombyx neustria, Bombyx pyri, Bombyx unicolor, Clisiocampa neustria, Gastropacha neustria, Malacosoma alba, Malacosoma annularis, Malacosoma approximata, Malacosoma bicolor, Malacosoma brevipennis, Malacosoma brunnea, Malacosoma castrensioides, Malacosoma cervina, Malacosoma cervina-confluens, Malacosoma cervina-fracta, Malacosoma cervina-unicolor, Malacosoma cervina-virgata, Malacosoma cinnamomea, Malacosoma concolor, Malacosoma confluens, Malacosoma contrasta, Malacosoma flava, Malacosoma flavescens, Malacosoma maculifera, Malacosoma mauginii, Malacosoma neustria f. nigrapici, Malacosoma nigrapici, Malacosoma ochracea, Malacosoma ochracea-fracta, Malacosoma ochracea-unicolor, Malacosoma ochracea-virgata, Malacosoma ochrea-confluens, Malacosoma palierina, Malacosoma pallida, Malacosoma quercina, Malacosoma quercus, Malacosoma unicolor, Malacosoma virgata, Malacosoma vulgaris, Malacosoma x-strigata, Phalaena annularis, Phalaena neustria
Other names and names in other languages (32)
- LackeyEnglish
- The lackeyEnglish
- Коканапрад кольчатыBelarusian
- bourovec prsténčivýCzech
- GwaswyfynWelsh
- GwaswyfynodWelsh
- RingspinderDanish
- RingelspinnerGerman
- Aia-rõngakedrikEstonian
- tarharengaskehrääjäFinnish
- Bombyx à livréeFrench
- La livrée des arbresFrench
- Livrée des arbresFrench
- gyűrűsszövőHungarian
- オビカレハJapanese
- 천막벌레나방Korean
- Žieduotasis VerpikasLithuanian
- okergul ringspinnerNorwegian Bokmål
- RingelrupsDutch
- RingelrupsvlinderDutch
- okergul ringspinnarNorwegian Nynorsk
- pierścienica nadrzewkaPolish
- Prządka pierścienicaPolish
- prządka pierścieniówkaPolish
- Коконопряд кольчатыйRussian
- priadkovec obrúčkatýSlovak
- pisana prsteničarkaSlovenian
- Кукавичија сузаSerbian
- ringspinnareSwedish
- buskringspinnareSwedish
- YüzükkelebeğiTurkish
- 天幕枯葉蛾Chinese
Relatives of the lackey moth
Other species in the same genus Malacosoma.
Ground lackey
Malacosoma castrensis
Forest tent caterpillar
Malacosoma disstria
Mountain lackey
Malacosoma alpicola
Eastern tent caterpillar
Malacosoma americana
Sonoran tent caterpillar
Malacosoma tigris
Pacific tent caterpillar
Malacosoma constricta
CompareLackey moth vs Ground lackeyLackey moth vs Forest tent caterpillarLackey moth vs Mountain lackeyLackey moth vs Eastern tent caterpillar
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the lackey moth?
The lackey moth is an insect in the butterflies and moths group, classified in the order Lepidoptera.
What is the scientific name of the lackey moth?
The scientific name of the lackey moth is Malacosoma neustria.
Who named the lackey moth and when?
The authority for Malacosoma neustria is (Linnaeus, 1758).
What family does the lackey moth belong to?
The lackey moth belongs to the family Lasiocampidae, in the superfamily Lasiocampoidea and subfamily Malacosominae.
What other names does the lackey moth have?
The lackey moth is also called the Lackey or The lackey.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lackey-moth
“Lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lackey-moth.
@misc{lackey_moth_2026,
title = {Lackey moth (Malacosoma neustria)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lackey-moth},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}