Devon Wildlife Trust Cinnabar moths start life as yellow and black caterpillars and are particularly fond of munching on ragwort plants. Their bright colours warn predators that they’re poisonous, but they only build up their poison after feeding on the ragwort. The caterpillars spend the winter as cocoons on the ground before emerging as moths in the summer. Cinnabar moths can be seen flying during the day and night and are often mistaken for butterflies.

How to identify

The cinnabar is slate-black with two red spots and two pinky-red stripes on the rounded forewings. Its hindwings are pinky-red and bordered with black. It can be distinguished from the similar burnet moths by its broader wings and red bars instead of spots.

https://www.devonwildlifetrust.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/moths/cinnabar 

 

UK Moths Resembling no other British species, except perhaps the burnets (Zygaenidae), this is a fairly common moth in much of Britain. It is generally nocturnal, but is quite often disturbed during the day from long grass, low herbage etc. At night, it comes to light. A colour form, f. flavescens is found occasionally, with the red markings replaced with a yellowish tint. The distinctive larvae, with their yellow and black hoops, generally feed gregariously on ragwort (Senecio jacobaea) and other related plants. The flight period is May through July.

https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/tyria-jacobaeae/adult/ 

 

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Devonshire Association Entomology Section The Entomology Section promotes the study and recording of insects and also spiders in the county.

Meetings, talks, exhibitions, publications and field trips are arranged annually across the county of Devon and are suitable for beginners and experienced alike. Field trips are usually held in association with other specialist groups with whom we maintain close links. We also meet with other sections to demonstrate, and learn, about the inter-relationships with other disciplines.

With at least ten specialists in different Orders within the insect class we cater for a wide range of interests. Some of our Recorders are national experts in their field and hence we are the major collective source of entomological expertise in the county.

https://devonassoc.org.uk/organisation/sections/entomology-section/

 

Devon Biodiversity Record Centre Submit your sightings of Cinnabar moths and other species in Devon

https://www.dbrc.org.uk/wildlife-sightings/ 

 

Buglife is the only organisation in Europe devoted to the conservation of all invertebrates. We’re actively working to save Britain’s rarest little animals, everything from bees to beetles, worms to woodlice and jumping spiders to jellyfish.

https://www.buglife.org.uk/ 

 

National Biodiversity Network The NBN Atlas is a collaborative project that aggregates biodiversity data from multiple sources and makes it available and usable online. It is the UK’s largest collection of freely available biodiversity data.

https://species.nbnatlas.org/species/NBNSYS0000006155 

 

Wikipedia The cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae) is a brightly coloured arctiid moth found as a native species in Europe and western and central Asia then east across the Palearctic to Siberia to China. It has been introduced into New Zealand, Australia and North America to control ragwort, on which its larvae feed. The moth is named after the red mineral cinnabar because of the red patches on its predominantly black wings. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. Cinnabar moths are about 20 mm (0.79 in) long and have a wingspan of 32–42 mm (1.3–1.7 in).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinnabar_moth 

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