Tiger Moth

Quick Take

• Bats should be the perfect predator for this night flyer, yet something about its sound defeats them.
• Those flashy wings carry a message, and the caterpillar's menu holds the secret to how it's backed up.
• A 1930s warplane borrowed this insect's name. Find out why.
• Despite its loud colors, this moth prefers to hide, and a fuzzy younger self has a very different strategy.

A tiger moth is most notable for its brightly colored wings. Its wing design can include a pattern of red, orange, green, white, and black. This moth’s caterpillar is sometimes called a woolly bear because of its furry body. These moths live in gardens, meadows, and woodlands. Their wingspan ranges from 1.5 to 2 inches.

5 Incredible Facts

• There are 11,000 species of tiger moths in the world.
• They live in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia.
• This insect’s brightly colored wings serve as a signal to predators that it has a sour taste and is poisonous.
• A British airplane serving in the Royal Air Force in the 1930s took its name from this species.
• The population of this species is decreasing in Britain, largely due to climate change, with habitat loss and pesticide spraying also suspected.

Evolution And Origin

The moth, in the order Lepidoptera, was present about 300 million years ago, during the Carboniferous Period, and shared a common ancestor with today’s butterflies. They had mandibles that they used to feed on grains of pollen or fern spores. The development of the proboscis, a straw-like jaw found in both moths and butterflies which is found to have occurred around 240 million years ago, helped these early moths profit from the natural food source of the nectar from the plants and flowers. These early moths were then able to fly further and colonize new plants.

Species, And Scientific Name

Arctia caja is the scientific name of a garden tiger moth. The word “arctia” comes from the Greek arktos, meaning “bear.” This refers to the appearance of the caterpillar, also called a woolly bear. They belong to the Erebidae family, the class Insecta, and the subfamily Arctiinae.

Types Of

There are 11,000 species of tiger moths in the world. Two hundred and sixty of those species live in North America.

Some species, along with their scientific name, include:

• Isabella (Pyrrharctia Isabella)
• Scarlet (Callimorpha dominula)
• Bella moth (Utetheisa ornatrix) – also called the rattlebox moth or the ornate moth
• Ruby (Phragmatobia fuliginosa)
• Giant leopard (Hypercompe scribonia)
• Harnessed (Apantesis phalerata)
• Yellow woolly bear (Spilosoma virginica)

Appearance

There are thousands of species of tiger moths displaying different colors and patterns on their wings. The garden tiger moth has two brown wings featuring a pattern of thick, bright white lines. Its two hindwings are bright orange and covered with black and blue spots. The bright colors serve as a warning to birds and other predators that this insect is poisonous. When threatened, it releases a yellow, poisonous fluid from glands behind its head.

The garden tiger moth has a wingspan of about 1.8 to 2.6 inches. The largest wingspan of this particular species can reach about 3 inches.

A similar insect (though not in the same family) featuring brightly colored wings is the eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly. Its wingspan is much larger, ranging from 3 inches to 5.5 inches.

This insect is solitary, as are most moths. Despite the fact that their coloration serves as an excellent method of self-defense, these moths like to stay hidden.

Compared to an adult tiger moth, a woolly bear caterpillar has an easier time blending in with its environment because of its duller colors.

Habitat

Garden tiger moths are found in Canada, the United States, Europe, Northern Asia, and Central Asia. Their habitats include woodlands, grasslands, gardens, and near rivers. They are found in temperate and cold climates.

Diet

This species has different diets at different stages of its life. During the caterpillar stage, it is considered a herbivore. Alternatively, the adults are considered nectarivores.

What Eats Tiger Moths?

This species has very few predators due to the poison it can release. However, there are some small birds that are able to eat them without being harmed.

It would seem logical to include bats as predators of this species. After all, they are both active at night. But some tiger moths can make clicking sounds that warn bats away or even interfere with a bat’s echolocation. In short, these sounds confuse a bat as it is using echolocation to determine the location of its prey.

What Do Tiger Moths Eat?

Adult tiger moths survive on a diet of nectar obtained from flowers. A woolly bear caterpillar eats plants such as asters, dandelions, clover, and goldenrod among many others.

In addition, woolly bear caterpillars eat toxic plants including foxglove. Eating these plants allows them to take in the toxins they’ll use as protection against predators when they become adults.