Poplar grey
Acronicta megacephala
The poplar grey is a grey moth from Europe that flies at night. Its front wings are pale grey with darker smudges. Its hairy caterpillar has a big white patch near its back end.
Lives in
All over Europe, near poplars and willows
Wingspan
4 to 4.5 cm (1.6 to 1.8 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a moth that cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of poplars and willows, and sometimes grey alder.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 8 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 25 seconds
How big is Poplar grey 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)
Poplar grey about 15 km/h (9.3 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It is attracted to lights and to sweet sugar.
2
It spends the winter as a pupa, waiting for spring.
3
The male's back wings are white, and the female's are greyer.
4
Some poplar greys are much darker, almost black.
you asked
Most asked questions about Poplar grey
?What does the poplar grey eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of poplars and willows.
?When does the poplar grey fly?
At night, from May to August in Britain.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Acronicta megacephala
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Poplar grey (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 no rights reserved. CC0, 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
Gray lawn leafhopper
Speckled longhorn beetle
Yellow-shouldered drone fly
Bellicose bumble bee
Sitka bumble bee
Three-spined grass bug