Shuttle-shaped dart
Agrotis puta
The shuttle-shaped dart is a small brown night moth. It is common in western Europe and flies for a big part of the year. Its caterpillars hide among low plants and nibble them.
Lives in
Western, central and southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East
Wingspan
3 to 3.2 cm (1.2 to 1.3 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting people, so you can watch it up close.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat many kinds of low plants.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 5 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 29 seconds
How big is Shuttle-shaped dart 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)
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Shuttle-shaped dart about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It flies over a long season, from May all the way to October.
2
A special subspecies lives only on the Isles of Scilly off the coast of England.
3
Its caterpillars are not fussy and eat many different low-growing plants.
you asked
Most asked questions about Shuttle-shaped dart
?How big is the shuttle-shaped dart?
Its wingspan is about 30 to 32 millimetres.
?When does the shuttle-shaped dart fly?
From May to October.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Agrotis puta
- Named by
- Hübner, 1803
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Agrotis puta (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 Fvlamoen. CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Atlas moth
Luna moth
Hummingbird hawk-moth
Domestic silk moth
Isabella tiger moth
Polyphemus moth
Satyr comma
Green huntsman spider
Three-spotted grass yellow
Snake-back spider
Ferruginous bee-grabber
Dusky stink bug