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Arctia caja
Neat moth. Two-inch wingspan. Their pattern and colors are a warning to predators that they are toxic. The wing pattern can vary between individuals. Some have larger blotches with very little white in between, others have more than the one pictured.
The garden tiger moth is found throughout Europe as far north as Lapland, in Asia, and in North America. In the mountains (Tien Shan) this species is found up to an elevation of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). The garden tiger moth loves damp places, which is why it is particularly common in river valleys as well as gardens and parks.
Its numbers in the UK have declined by 89% over the past 30 years.
10 Comments
gorgeous moth. This one is on my wish list. Awesome!
Added a photo of the moth's face! Same individual, found the following morning.
Thanks, everyone! They seem to be out in full force right now. I saw several more last night. I love their colors and patterns. Each one is slightly different.
Very beautiful capture! Congratulations, Shane!
decepticon or autobot? im thinkin' autobot.
Lovely spotting! Congratulations!
congratulations!
Great spotting and congratulations!
Congratulations Shane! We've chosen this NY beauty as Spotting of the Day during the first ever Moth Week. Our goal has been to show people the incredible diversity of moth species around the world and prove that moths are so much more then brown sweater destroyers! :) Thanks for the awesome contributions and we look forward to seeing more from you.
"If this Garden Tiger Moth perceives a threat, it quickly shows its brightly colored hindwing pattern and flies away, confusing and warning off predators."
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really nice!!! this would be a perfect spotting for the Moths of the World - National Moth Week mission @ http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8841...