Granny's cloak moth
Speiredonia spectans
The granny's cloak moth is a big moth from Australia with a funny, cosy name. Its wings are about as wide as a grown-up's palm. It flies at night, and some of them wander far across the sea.
Lives in
North-eastern Australia and Tasmania
Wingspan
7 cm (2.8 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a gentle moth that cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of acacia trees, which Australians call wattles.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🧱wings as wide as 2 toy building bricks⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 20 seconds
How big is Granny's cloak moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
Granny's cloak moth about 19 km/h (12 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its wings measure about 7 centimetres from tip to tip.
2
Lost travellers have turned up on Norfolk Island and even in New Zealand, far over the sea.
3
Scientists first described it in 1852, more than 170 years ago.
you asked
Most asked questions about Granny's cloak moth
?Where does the granny's cloak moth live?
In north-eastern Australia and on the island of Tasmania.
?What do granny's cloak moth caterpillars eat?
They eat the leaves of acacia trees, also called wattles.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Speiredonia spectans
- Named by
- Guenée, 1852
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Erebidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Speiredonia spectans (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 Mark Marathon. 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.
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
Giant jumping ant
Pine tree spur-throat grasshopper
Inchman ant
Button's banana slug
Bronze hopper
West Virginia white