Invertebrates
Garden Tiger Moth
Arctia caja · also called great tiger moth
At a lit window on a July night, a garden tiger moth settles with its brown-and-cream forewings folded, hiding the flash of orange-red that it will show to anything that disturbs it.
Overview
The garden tiger moth, Arctia caja, is a Not Evaluated moth found across Europe, Asia, and North America. Its warning colours and hairy woolly bear caterpillar were once a familiar sight in gardens, but the species has declined steeply in Britain.
A moth in trouble
Although still found across a large part of the Northern Hemisphere, the garden tiger has lost most of its numbers in Britain in the last half century.
Status
Not Evaluated globally, though decreasing sharply in Britain.
Garden Tiger Moth: common questions
Why is the garden tiger moth declining?
Its numbers have fallen steeply in Britain, possibly due to habitat change and a warming climate, though the exact causes are not fully understood.
What does a garden tiger caterpillar look like?
It is covered with long, dense dark hairs tipped with reddish-orange, and is known as a woolly bear.
How does the garden tiger moth defend itself?
It flashes its orange-red hindwings and can release a frothy, bad-tasting fluid from glands behind its head.
Where is the garden tiger moth found?
It lives in grassland, woodland edges, and gardens across Europe, Asia, and North America.