Cream-spot tiger
The cream-spot tiger is a striking moth with black front wings covered in big cream patches. When it opens them, it shows bright red or orange back wings with black spots. Its body is black at the front and reddish orange behind.
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Fun facts
Its bright colours are scarlet when it is new and fade to orange as it gets older.
Its caterpillars are black with tufts of light brown hair and a reddish head and legs.
The moths mostly fly at night and come to lights, but the females also fly in the daytime.
The caterpillars sleep through the winter and wake up in spring to eat before they turn into moths.
In 1992 it was pictured on a German postage stamp.
Most asked questions about Cream-spot tiger
?Is the cream-spot tiger moth dangerous?
No. It is harmless to people.
?What does the cream-spot tiger caterpillar eat?
Many low plants, such as dandelions, nettles, plantains and strawberries.
?How big is the cream-spot tiger?
Its wings measure about 4.5 to 6 centimetres from tip to tip.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Arctia villica
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Arctia villica (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 Danny Chapman. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same 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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