Dot moth
The dot moth has very dark, almost black front wings with one big white spot on each. That white dot gives it its name. It flies at night in summer and likes to come to lights.
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Fun facts
Its caterpillar can be green, brown or even pinkish. It has V-shaped marks on its back and a little hump near its tail end.
It spends the winter as a pupa, waiting to turn into a moth.
In Britain it flies in July and August.
In the Alps it lives up to about 1000 metres high.
Most asked questions about Dot moth
?Why is it called the dot moth?
Because of the big white spot on each of its dark front wings.
?What does the dot moth eat?
Its caterpillars eat many kinds of plants. The moths visit flowers and sweet sugary food.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Melanchra persicariae
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1761
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Dot moth (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Please report references to [email protected] .. CC BY-SA 2.5, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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