This Ailanthus webworm photographed at Peace Valley Park in Doylestown, is thought to be native to South Florida and the American tropics, habitat to its original larval host plants, the Paradise Tree and Simarouba amara. Another tree called Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima), originally from China, has been widely introduced and Atteva aurea has jumped to this new host plant (giving it its common name, Ailanthus webworm). The moth does not survive cold Pennsylvania winters, but migrates north each year so it is commonly seen in summer throughout Pennsylvania.

Larvae produce nests on the host plant by pulling two to three leaflets around a network of loose webbing. Then they consume the leaflets. The caterpillars have a wide, light greenish-brown stripe down their backs and several thin, alternating white and olive-green stripes along their sides. The adult moth visits flowers, is