Six-spot Burnet Moth

Zygaena filipendulae

Today's animal is a small, colorful insect with a name that describes it pretty much to the tee. The six-spot Burnet Moth does in fact have six spots on each wing... though sometimes they get a bit merged together, which can result in some spot-count confusion.

Six-spot Burnets live throughout Europe and are incredibly common on the continent. There are over 20 different subspecies! Most of the subspecies have dark bodies with wings of a metallic sheen. The wing spots are red, which warns predators that these Moths are poisonous! Sometimes the spots are yellow or brown, but only rarely.

Six-spot Burnets are active during the day, when they live in colonies and feed on the nectar of large flowers. They prefer sunny days, and fly from June to August. The Moths only reproduce once, and the caterpillars overwinter before pupating and becoming Moths in June. (Sometimes they will even overwinter twice!) Caterpillars are very plump and greenish-yellow, with black spots.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Europe
Size : Wingspan up to 1.6in (4cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Lepidoptera
Family : Zygaenidae -- Genus : Zygaena -- Species : Z. filipendulae

Eight-spotted Forester

Meet the Eight-spotted Forester, a small moth found in the eastern United States and in parts of eastern Canada. As adults, they have dark black bodies and eight white or yellow spots across their wings, giving them their common name.

Alypia octomaculata

Larvae

Location has everything to do with the lifespans and generations of the Eight-spotted Forester. Only one generation is produced each year in the north, with adults flying from April to June. Two generations are more common in the south. Adults don't live through the winter months, but the pupa do! They bunker down in the soil or in wood crevasses when it gets cold.

Eight-spotted Forester larvae come from eggs that are often laid upon Grape or Virginia Creeper plants. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on those plants (adults feed on nectar). The young Moths are just as boldly patterned as the adults are, with bright orange bands interspersed with smaller black and white ones.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Eastern United States, Canada
Size : Wingspan up to 1.2in (3.7cm)

Classification : Phylum : Arthropoda -- Class : Insecta -- Order : Lepidoptera
Family : Noctuidae -- Genus : Alypia -- Species : A. octomaculata