Sussex emerald
The Sussex emerald is a moth with soft green wings crossed by white lines. The edges of its wings have a fringe that is white and reddish brown, like a chequered border. As it gets older, the green can fade to yellowish.
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Fun facts
In Britain it is very rare and only breeds at Dungeness in Kent and at one place in Rye, East Sussex.
When its caterpillar sheds its old skin, it eats it up.
The caterpillar's head has a deep split down the middle, and two little spikes stick up above it.
The caterpillar spends the winter half grown.
The moths fly from June to August, depending on where they live.
Most asked questions about Sussex emerald
?Where does the Sussex emerald live?
Across Europe and Asia. In Britain it is very rare and lives only on shingle at Dungeness and Rye.
?What does the Sussex emerald caterpillar eat?
Many different plants. In Britain it mostly eats wild carrot.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Thalera fimbrialis
- Named by
- Scopoli, 1763
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Thalera fimbrialis (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 Siga. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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