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Sticker of Tropical tiger moth
Bug card No. 4447 of 4,939

Tropical tiger moth

Asota caricae
Eats: PlantsMothsRainforests and jungles6 legs

The tropical tiger moth has brown front wings with white lines along the veins and an orange patch near the body. Its back wings are bright orange-yellow with black spots. It lives in warm lands from India to Australia.

Lives in
From India and Sri Lanka to Southeast Asia, Queensland and Pacific islands, in forests and farmland
Wingspan
5.1 to 5.8 cm (2 to 2.3 in)
Top speed
about 17 km/h (11 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Has stinging hairs
When there are huge numbers of these moths, their hairs and scales have made some people itchy or feverish. Look, but do not touch.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of fig trees, teak and other trees.
For real!Photo of Tropical tiger moth
Picture by Len Worthington. CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Tropical tiger moth wings about 5.8 cm tip to tip (2.3 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
wings as wide as 2 toy building brickscould fly across a whole football pitch in 22 seconds

How big is Tropical tiger moth compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its caterpillar is black with two white bands along its back.

2

The caterpillar makes a thin cocoon stuck to a leaf before it turns into a moth.

3

The orange patch on its wings matches the colour of the scales on its body.

4

It lives in both forests and farmland.

you asked

Most asked questions about Tropical tiger moth

?Is the tropical tiger moth dangerous?

Not much, but in years when there are very many of them, some people got itchy or feverish. It is best not to touch it.

?What does the tropical tiger moth eat?

Its caterpillars eat leaves of fig trees, teak and other trees.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Asota caricae
Group
Moths
Family
Erebidae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Erebidae
Lives on
Asia, Australia and Oceania

Where the facts come from

  1. Asota caricae (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Len Worthington. CC BY-SA 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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More from the same group: Moths

Also at home here: Rainforests and jungles

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