Lackey
Malacosoma neustria

The lackey moth 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. Source
Where it is now
No records in the last 8 weeks. It may be out of season where the observers and sensors are.
See the Lackey on the live map
Movement and weather
Over the weeks it was present in the past year, its centre in Europe ranged from 44°N in June to 54°N in July, about 1,100 km apart.
Arrival dates
The week it was first heard regularly in each region, after at least six weeks away. Dates differ from south to north, so a region has a range.
| Region | First arrival | Last arrival | Typical peak | Areas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | 13 April 2026 | 11 May 2026 | 8 June 2026 | 3 |
Figures are effort corrected and come from automatic sound identification, which makes mistakes. How this is measured and how it compares with human observers.