Flame shoulder moth
Ochropleura plecta
Name means: “named after the creamy yellow stripe along the front edge of its wings”
The flame shoulder is a small reddish-brown moth. Along the front edge of each wing it has a creamy yellow stripe, like a bright flame on its shoulder. Its back wings are pure white.
Lives in
Europe and Asia, from Ireland to Siberia, Korea and Japan
Wingspan
2.8 to 3.4 cm (1.1 to 1.3 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Grown-ups are drawn to sweet sugary food at night. Its caterpillars eat plants.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 6 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 29 seconds
How big is Flame shoulder moth 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)
Flame shoulder moth 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 at night and comes to lights.
2
There are two families of these moths each year: one in spring and early summer, one in late summer.
3
A black stripe runs along its wing, broken up by pale rings.
you asked
Most asked questions about Flame shoulder moth
?Why is it called the flame shoulder?
Because of the creamy yellow stripe along the front edge of its wings, like a flame on its shoulder.
?When can you see the flame shoulder moth?
From April to June and again in August and September, flying at night.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Ochropleura plecta
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1761
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
- Also known as
- Flame shoulder
Where the facts come from
- Flame shoulder (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 picture taken by Olaf Leillinger. CC BY-SA 2.5, 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
Edith's checkerspot
Common tachinid
Asparagus beetle
Cotton harlequin bug
Common branded skipper
Four-lined plant bug