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Mila'sExotic Plants & CuriositiesA living collection by Luminary OdditiesLuminary Oddities · Natural history & art
Euplagia quadripunctaria
Lepidoptera / Erebidae
Diagonal cream-white stripes cross black forewings above orange or yellow hindwings. This tiger moth combines conspicuous flight colours with a compact, triangular resting posture.
Read the species account
Euplagia quadripunctaria belongs to Arctiinae, the tiger-moth subfamily of Erebidae. Poda described the species in 1761. [1]
The dark forewings have diagonal cream-white stripes, including a characteristic Y-shaped marking near the outer margin. The hindwings are usually orange, but yellow individuals also occur. At rest, the closed forewings form a triangular outline. [1]
The moth occurs widely across Europe, with few records in southern Scandinavia. British populations occupy coastal habitats and suburban or urban gardens. [1]
Eggs are laid in batches. Caterpillars overwinter among dead leaves and feed on low-growing plants, including common nettle and white dead-nettle, as well as bramble. [1]
British adults feed on nectar by day; hemp-agrimony is a recorded nectar source. [2]
British adults fly from mid-July to mid-September and are attracted to light at night. On Rhodes, adults emerge earlier and gather densely in the Petaloudes valley during summer aestivation, a period of seasonal inactivity. British populations do not show this Mediterranean aestivation behaviour. [1][2]
Historical studies used the name Callimorpha quadripunctaria. Euplagia belongs to the tribe Callimorphini. [1]
Wellcome Open Research · Accessed 2026-10-11
UKMoths · Accessed 2026-10-11
Sources checked 2026-10-11. Illustrations · Luminary Oddities.
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