Bug Wiki
Sticker of Vestal
Bug card No. 4576 of 4,939

Vestal

Rhodometra sacraria
Eats: PlantsMothsGardens and meadows6 legs

The vestal is a small, creamy yellow moth with a pink or brown stripe running across its wings. When it rests, it folds its wings together like a little tent. It is a traveller that flies long distances to new places.

Lives in
Europe, Asia, Africa and parts of South America, in meadows, gardens and parks
Wingspan
1.6 to 2.8 cm (0.63 to 1.1 in)
Top speed
about 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
The caterpillar nibbles low plants like knotgrass and dock. The text does not say what the grown-up moth eats.
For real!Photo of Vestal
Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Vestal wings about 2.8 cm tip to tip (1.1 in)A grain of rice about 6 mm (0.24 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)
wings as wide as 5 grains of rice in a rowcould fly across a whole football pitch in 32 seconds

How big is Vestal compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The caterpillar looks just like a little twig, so it is very hard to find.

2

How pink its stripe becomes depends on how warm it was while the moth was growing inside its pupa.

3

It flies at night and likes to come to lamps.

4

It needs warm weather to breed, so it lays its eggs in southern Europe and North Africa.

5

Its eggs are yellowish with little red spots.

you asked

Most asked questions about Vestal

?Is the vestal moth dangerous?

No. It is a small moth that cannot bite or sting.

?How big is a vestal moth?

Its wings are about 1.6 to 2.8 centimetres from tip to tip.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Rhodometra sacraria
Named by
Linnaeus, 1767
Group
Moths
Family
Geometridae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
Lives on
Europe, Asia, Africa, South America

Where the facts come from

  1. Rhodometra sacraria (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Moths

Also at home here: Gardens and meadows

Honey jarfor grown-ups