Small Quaker
Orthosia cruda
The small Quaker is a grey-brown moth that appears very early in the year. You can see it already at the end of February, when it is still chilly. Some are plain grey and some are quite reddish.
Lives in
Europe, North Africa and western Asia
Wingspan
2.8 to 3.2 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of trees such as oak and willow.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 5 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 29 seconds
How big is Small Quaker 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)
Small Quaker about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
It flies from the end of February to the middle of May.
2
The caterpillar hides between leaves that it ties together with silk.
3
The caterpillar is yellowish green, sometimes brown, with fine pale lines.
4
There is only one family of moths each year.
you asked
Most asked questions about Small Quaker
?When does the small Quaker fly?
In late winter and spring, from the end of February to mid-May.
?What does the small Quaker eat?
Its caterpillars eat oak and willow leaves.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Orthosia cruda
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Africa, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Orthosia cruda (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 Fvlamoen. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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