While exploring California, I encountered this insect that is commonly found in late Spring and early Summer. It is a medium-sized (about 1 inch) moth. Its forewings appear black, typically with a net-like pattern of extensive yellowish or rosy off-white transverse lines and thinner pale veins.

The Ornate Tiger Moth’s habitats include coastal grasslands adjacent to the ocean, coastal rainforests, low elevation grasslands west of the Cascades, oak woodlands, mixed hardwood-conifer forests in the mountains, and Ponderosa Pine forests at middle elevations.

Its caterpillar looks like a typical “wooly worm” and like other types of Tiger Moth larva, it is a feeding generalist that consumes a wide variety of vegetation. The bright warning coloration displayed by Tiger Moths is associated with distastefulness, thus protecting it from predation.

The antennae of the Ornate Tiger Moths have an interesting toothed pattern. They normally perch with their wings held roof-like over their bodies. These insects are nocturnal as adults and may be attracted to lights at night. There are about 11,000 species of Tiger Moths in the world, residing in Canada, the United States, Europe, and Asia.

Although moths are stereotypically drab, most Tiger Moths are quite colorful and attractive and this one is no exception. A British airplane serving in the Royal Air Force in the 1930s took its name from this species.

Third Eye Herp
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