Grey swallowtail moth
Micronia aculeata
The grey swallowtail moth is a white moth covered in fine grey stripes. Its back wings have little tails, like a swallow's tail. Next to each tail there is a small black spot.
Lives in
India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar to Sulawesi
Wingspan
4.2 to 5 cm (1.7 to 2 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It does not bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat plant leaves.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🧱wings as wide as 1.5 toy building bricks⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 24 seconds
How big is Grey swallowtail moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Grey swallowtail moth about 16 km/h (9.9 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its little wing tails make it look like a swallowtail butterfly, even though it is a moth.
2
Its white wings are covered in many thin greyish lines.
3
Its whole body is white with a greyish tint.
you asked
Most asked questions about Grey swallowtail moth
?Is the grey swallowtail moth a butterfly?
No. It is a moth, but it has tails on its wings like swallowtail butterflies.
?How big is the grey swallowtail moth?
Its open wings measure about 4.2 to 5 cm across.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Micronia aculeata
- Named by
- Guenée, 1857
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Uraniidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Uraniidae
- Lives on
- Asia
Where the facts come from
- Micronia aculeata (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 LiCheng Shih. CC BY 4.0, 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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