Bug card No. 2604 of 4,939

Lesser yellow underwing

Noctua comes

Eats: Nectar and pollen MothsGardens and meadows6 legs

The lesser yellow underwing is a night moth with brownish front wings that hide a surprise. When it flies, it flashes bright orange-yellow back wings with a black band. It looks like a smaller copy of the large yellow underwing.

Lives in

Europe, North Africa and Asia, and now also western and eastern Canada

Wingspan

3.8 to 4.8 cm (1.5 to 1.9 in)

Top speed

about 15 km/h (9.3 mph)

Flying, estimate

Can it hurt you?

Harmless

Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.

What does it eat?

The moth visits flowers like heather and ragwort. Its caterpillar eats leaves of many plants, such as birch, willow, strawberry and foxglove.

Photo of Lesser yellow underwing — Picture by Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark. CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

wings as wide as 1.5 toy building brickscould fly across a whole football pitch in 25 seconds

How big is Lesser yellow underwing 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)

Lesser yellow underwing about 15 km/h (9.3 mph)

A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

Its front wings can be pale clay, reddish, light brown or almost black.

It was brought to British Columbia in Canada around 1982 and has spread from there.

Its caterpillar is green or brown with black dashes along its back.

It spends the winter as a caterpillar.

It flies at night from July to September and comes to lights.

you asked

Most asked questions about Lesser yellow underwing

?When does the lesser yellow underwing fly?

At night from July to September. It is attracted to lights and flowers.

?What does the lesser yellow underwing caterpillar eat?

Leaves of many plants, like birch, willow, hawthorn, heather and strawberry.

For bug experts

Scientific name: Noctua comes
Group: Moths
Family: Noctuidae
Classification: Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
Lives on: Europe, Africa, Asia, North America

Where the facts come from

Lesser yellow underwing (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 Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark. CC BY 2.0, 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.

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