Police car moth
The police car moth is a black moth with big white patches on its wings, a bit like an old black and white police car. Unlike most moths, it flies in the daytime. You can see it sipping nectar from thistles and goldenrod in late summer.
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Fun facts
Its wings are about 5.5 centimetres from tip to tip.
It flies during the day, in late summer.
There is only one family of them each year.
Its young caterpillars have yellower patches that change as they grow.
Most asked questions about Police car moth
?Why is it called the police car moth?
Because its black and white wings remind people of a black and white police car.
?Does the police car moth fly in the day?
Yes. Unlike most moths, it flies during the daytime.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Gnophaela vermiculata
- Named by
- Grote, 1864
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Green lattice
Where the facts come from
- Gnophaela vermiculata (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 JerryFriedman. CC BY-SA 3.0, 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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