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British Entomology Egg Several hundred eggs are laid on the outside of the female's empty cocoon, usually attached to a host plant or something close by (e.g. fence, wall). They grow to about 30–40 mm, females being considerably larger than males.
Pupa The pupa forms in a crevice (e.g. in tree bark or fence) inside a silk
cocoon. It is glossy black and hairy.
Imago The male flies in a zigzag pattern—often high up in search of females—and is active during the day or at night. Males occasionally come to light. In
New Brunswick, adult males are attracted to
pheromone traps set in commercial forests for
white-marked tussock moth (
O. leucostigma). The female is flightless, spending her brief life attached to her cocoon. The female attracts other males via release of a pheromone, the males find the female via the concentration gradient of the released pheromone. The female mates and lays her grey-yellow eggs in large numbers on her fine-meshed
cocoon. The adult moths do not feed, so they only live for a short time. The two (sometimes three) generations fly from May till October; in North America, only one generation occurs in a year. In the
UK, one protracted generation, from July to October in the south, and from September to October in the north, is believed to happen. The males are
diurnal, flying during the day, but are occasionally attracted to light. ==Host plants==