Variable burnet
Zygaena ephialtes
The variable burnet is a moth that flies in the daytime, slowly and with a bouncy flight. Its dark wings have bright spots that can be red, white or yellow.
Lives in
Most of Europe, from Spain to the Ural Mountains, in dry sunny meadows
What does it eat?
The moths visit flowers like thistles. The caterpillars eat vetches and other small plants.
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)
Variable burnet about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It is called variable because it comes in so many colour forms, with red or yellow spots and five or six spots on each front wing.
2
It is one of the biggest burnet moths.
3
It needs open, dry meadows. It cannot live in thick forests.
4
It does not live in the British Isles or in northern Europe.
you asked
Most asked questions about Variable burnet
?Does the variable burnet fly during the day?
Yes. Unlike many moths, it flies in the daytime.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Zygaena ephialtes
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Zygaenidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Zygaenidae
- Lives on
- Europe
Where the facts come from
- Zygaena ephialtes (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 Hectonichus. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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