Great Tiger Moth

bugman

August 2nd, 2008 at 12:00 am

Categories

Moths

St. Lawrence Tiger Moth?
Hi Guys,
We are just east of Ottawa, Ontario and we found this beauty on the brick in the front of our house, in a nice shady spot. It was very friendly and decided to come in the house with us for a quick photo shoot on our kitchen floor. We couldn’t find an exact match on your site for this one, so thought I’d ask for your identification assistance. I am guessing that it is some sort of Tiger Moth, but uncertain of which breed it might be … the closest one I noticed on the site was the St. Lawrence Tiger Moth. I know you are swamped, but when you get the time I’d love your input. PS. Thanks for being such a great help to everyone and for all of the time and patience you extend to others. Thanks in advance! Cheers,
Rhonda M. Frank

Hi Rhonda,
Your beautiful moth is actually a holarctic species, the Great Tiger Moth, Arctia caja, also known as the Garden Tiger Moth in Europe. There are several subspecies in both the new and old world. It is an even more spectacular species than the St. Lawrence Tiger Moth. According to Bugguide, it is: “uncommon to rare in North America; European numbers have been declining in recent years “