Moths – The biggest group of insects
Six-spot burnet (Zygaena filipendulae)
The six-spot burnet moth has a metallic blue-green coloration with six red spots. The lower wings are intensely red. The moths are poisonous to their predators. They have a wingspan of up to 38 mm. The caterpillars are yellow with black spots.
Spanish Flag
A moth from the subfamily of bear moths (family of owl moths). The moth has a wingspan of between 42 and 52 mm. The upper wings are black with whitish-yellow stripes. The wings form the letter V. The lower wings are bright red. The underside of the moth is whitish-yellow.
The caterpillars are black in color and covered with orange bristles. They have a yellow stripe down the middle. The caterpillars feed on plants such as deadnettle, stinging nettle, viper’s bugloss, and small burnet.
Mint moth (Pyrausta aurata)
The moth has a wingspan of between 18 and 20 mm. The front wings are purple-red in color. There are two bands of yellow spots on the wings. The rear wings are dark brown to black in color. There is a white band on these wings. The caterpillar is green to blackish in color and has a dark line down its back. It can reach a length of up to 13 mm.
Common crimson-and-gold moth (Pyrausta purpuralis)
The similar common crimson-and-gold moth has a wingspan of about 20 mm. The front wings are dark purple to purple-red in color. Yellow spots are distributed in a band across the wings. The rear wings are dark brown to black in color. There is a yellow band on these wings. The caterpillar is green in color and has a yellow longitudinal line. It can reach a length of up to 13 mm.
Grey dagger (Acronicta psi – caterpilar)
A gray moth with a wingspan of between 37 and 44 mm. The front wing has a light gray base color with black lines. The fringes at the end of the wings are also gray. The caterpillars can reach a length of about 38 mm. The base color is black. The underside of the caterpillar is white. The sides are black with red spots. The upper side has a pointed horn and is yellow in color.
