Mouse moth
Amphipyra tragopoginis
Name means: “it scuttles away on foot like a mouse when disturbed”
The mouse moth is a plain dark brown moth with three little black spots in a triangle on each wing. When it is disturbed, it does not fly away. It scuttles off on its feet, just like a little mouse.
Lives in
Europe and Asia, and lately also North America
Wingspan
3.2 to 4 cm (1.3 to 1.6 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Grown-ups come to sweet things and nectar-rich flowers. Its green caterpillars eat many kinds of plants.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🍚wings as wide as 7 grains of rice in a row⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 27 seconds
How big is Mouse 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)
Mouse moth about 14 km/h (8.7 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Even though it likes to run, it is a strong flyer and comes to lights.
2
In Britain it flies from July to September.
3
It spends the winter as an egg.
4
Its back wings are buff coloured and darker towards the edges.
you asked
Most asked questions about Mouse moth
?Why is it called the mouse moth?
Because when disturbed it scurries away on foot like a mouse instead of flying.
?How big is the mouse moth?
With wings spread it is about 3 to 4 centimetres wide.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Amphipyra tragopoginis
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Noctuidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Noctuidae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia, North America
Where the facts come from
- Mouse moth (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 Donald Hobern. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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