Chickweed geometer moth
Haematopis grataria
The chickweed geometer is a small, pale yellow moth with pink or red bands across its wings. Unlike most moths, it flies in the daytime. When it rests with its wings spread flat, the pink bands join up across all four wings.
Lives in
All over the United States and much of Canada
Wingspan
2 to 2.5 cm (0.79 to 0.98 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillar eats low-growing plants like chickweed, knotweed and clover.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 4 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 34 seconds
How big is Chickweed geometer moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Chickweed geometer moth about 11 km/h (6.8 mph)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Each front wing has a small red or pink spot in the middle.
2
The males have feathery antennae, while the females have thin, thread-like ones.
3
It flies from May to October.
4
It is the only species in its genus.
you asked
Most asked questions about Chickweed geometer moth
?Is the chickweed geometer a butterfly or a moth?
It is a moth, even though it flies in the daytime like a butterfly.
?What does the chickweed geometer caterpillar eat?
Low plants like chickweed, knotweed and clover.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Haematopis grataria
- Named by
- Fabricius, 1798
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Chickweed geometer
Where the facts come from
- Haematopis (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 Christina Butler from Georgia, United States. CC BY 2.0, 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.
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