Types of small moths uk. They look like hairy worms and are sometimes mistaken for centipedes or millipedes. The wingspan of male gypsy moths ranges from 3 4 cm and for females it is 56 to 67 cm. Identify a moth you can set or adjust your search criteria in the left hand column below. Traditionally moth fieldguides have concentrated on the so called macro moths of which there are around 800 regular species.
Unlike butterflies moths rest with their wings flat. Even the moths that are brown have intricate patterns and incredible camouflage. Large and fabulously patterned their heavy bodies make them slow to take off and they will sit on your hand looking wonderfully glamorous. Arctiids consist of a wide variety of moths including tiger moths lichen moths and wasp moths.
Moth larvae are called caterpillars. If you know which moth you would like more information on use our a to z of moths. Indoor moths in uk areas are rarely larger than 20 mm although there are outdoor species which can reach up to 120 mm. With around 2500 species of moth in the uk theres an amazing amount of diversity to be discovered.
This family is characterized by the presence of sound generating and sound receiving organs in the thorax chest region. Discover what moths eat which moths fly during the day and other facts. Learn to identify the most colourful british moths and their caterpillars including elephant hawkmoths cinnabar moths and tiger moths. August 21st 2019 at 250 pm the most dramatic moths in britain are the hawk moths.
However four species of moths in particular can cause problems in your home or business. There are burnet moths with black and red wings tiger moths with beautiful bold patterns and hawk moths that can be as large as your hand. The european gypsy moth is found in various areas including north africa europe and western asia. They also appear to be furrier and fatter than butterflies.
The elephant hawk moth is a vibrant combination of lime green and sugar pink. To study all of britains species incuding the often very interesting microlepidoptera requires an expensive library of reference material. Moths may look small and harmless but they can cause surprising amounts of damage to your clothing and textiles and stored products in general.