Cinnabar moth
Reading level:
Cinnabar moth
Invertebrate
A striking black and red moth that thrives in brownfield sites where their favourite food plant grows.
💡 Fun Facts
- Their brightly striped yellow and black caterpillars feed on poisonous ragwort.
- They store the plant's poison in their bodies, making them taste terrible to birds.
- Unlike most moths, they often fly during the daytime.
📅 Through the Year
- Active:May to July
Name Story
Tyria jacobaeae
means “The Tyrian-red moth of the ragwort”
What does its name mean?
- Tyria — of Tyre — the ancient city famous for its crimson-purple dye, so: rich redGreek/Latin
- jacobaeae — of ragwortLatin — the plant Jacobaea, named for St James
This moth flashes vivid crimson on its wings — the colour of an ancient royal dye — and its stripy black-and-yellow caterpillars munch almost nothing but ragwort, the very plant hidden in its name.