Hieroglyphic moth
The hieroglyphic moth has yellow-orange front wings covered with shiny blue-black lines and dots. The pattern looks like ancient picture writing, called hieroglyphs. Its back wings are black with a white fringe.
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Fun facts
It is the only moth in its whole subfamily.
Females have four little spurs on their back legs, males only two.
Its caterpillar is white with black rings and has a red-orange head.
The cocoon is made of silk and bits of plants, with a slit to climb out of.
Now and then one strays as far north as Michigan.
Most asked questions about Hieroglyphic moth
?Why is it called the hieroglyphic moth?
Because the shiny lines and dots on its wings look like ancient picture writing.
?Is the hieroglyphic moth harmful?
Not to people. Its caterpillars sometimes nibble soybean crops.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Diphthera festiva
- Named by
- Fabricius, 1775
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Nolidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Nolidae
- Lives on
- North America, South America
Where the facts come from
- Diphthera festiva (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 Meganmccarty. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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