Common crimson-and-gold moth
Pyrausta purpuralis
The common crimson-and-gold is a tiny moth with purple front wings decorated with golden yellow spots and bands. Its back wings are black with pale bands. Unlike most moths, it flies in the sunshine.
Lives in
Europe, in sunny grassy places
Wingspan
2 cm (0.79 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat mint plants.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 3 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 38 seconds
How big is Common crimson-and-gold 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)
Common crimson-and-gold moth about 9.9 km/h (6.2 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
Its wings measure only about 2 centimetres from tip to tip.
2
It looks almost the same as two of its cousins, so you need sharp eyes to tell them apart.
3
Its caterpillar is dark grey with yellowish lines and black spots.
you asked
Most asked questions about Common crimson-and-gold moth
?What does the crimson-and-gold moth eat?
Its caterpillars eat mint.
?When can I see the crimson-and-gold moth?
In the daytime from May to September.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Pyrausta purpuralis
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Crambidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Crambidae
- Lives on
- Europe
- Also known as
- Common purple and gold
Where the facts come from
- Pyrausta purpuralis (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 picture taken by Olaf Leillinger. CC BY-SA 2.5, 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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