The phoenix
Eulithis prunata

The phoenix is a dark brown moth with pale wavy bands and little black and white arrow marks on its wings. It has a big dark crescent spot near the tip of each front wing. It is named after the phoenix, a magical bird from old stories.
Lives in
Europe and Asia, all the way to Japan
Wingspan
2.8 to 3.7 cm (1.1 to 1.5 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat the leaves of currant and gooseberry bushes.

How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
๐wings as wide as 6 grains of rice in a rowโฝcould fly across a whole football pitch in 29 seconds
How big is The phoenix 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)
The phoenix about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
Its caterpillars can live on garden currant and gooseberry bushes.
2
Its back wings are grey with three pale wavy lines.
3
Different forms of it live in Europe, the Caucasus and East Asia.
you asked
Most asked questions about The phoenix
?What does the phoenix moth eat?
Its caterpillars eat leaves of currant and gooseberry bushes.
?Where does the phoenix moth live?
In Europe and Asia, as far as Korea and Japan.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Eulithis prunata
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Geometridae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Geometridae
- Lives on
- Europe, Asia
Where the facts come from
- Eulithis prunata (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 Ben Sale from UK. CC BY 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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