Fun Jersey Tiger Facts For Kids
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The Jersey tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) is from the family Erebidae, first described in 1716 and is also referred to as the supermodel of the moth world. Three subspecies of the Jersey tiger have been identified.
These are the Euplagia quadripunctaria quadripunctaria, Euplagia quadripunctaria fulgida, and Euplagia quadripunctaria rhodosensis. The Jersey tiger is found in Europe and its range includes Latvia, Estonia, and the Mediterranean coast.
It is also found in Russia and this range includes the Urals, Rhodes, Asia Minor, southern Turkmenistan, and Iran. The habitat of this species consists of coastal cliffs, gardens, and beaches.
Just like other species, the Jersey tiger undergoes a full metamorphosis and this includes egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa and adult stage. The Jersey tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) has stripes that are white or creamy in color that tend to contrast with the dark forewing.
The underwing can often be yellow in color with black spots or patches or reddish-orange in color with black spots in the nominate species.
Feeding of these caterpillars takes place on plants like nettles, dandelions, raspberries, ground ivy, plantain, lettuce, borage, white-deadnettle, and hemp-agrimony. When held, the Jersey tiger can be irritating to the skin.
In the British Isles, the Jersey tiger is rarely seen. The wingspan of a Jersey tiger is 2-2.6 in (5-6.6 cm) and adults tend to take shelter from the heat.
Continue reading for more fun facts about the Jersey tiger, and if you are interested, read about the American dagger moth and the promethea moth too.
Jersey Tiger Interesting Facts
What type of animal is a Jersey tiger?
Euplagia quadripunctaria, the Jersey tiger, is a type of moth. Tiger moths are referred to as supermodels of the moth world.
What class of animal does a Jersey tiger belong to?
Euplagia quadripunctaria, the Jersey tiger moth, belongs to the class of Insecta.
How many Jersey tigers are there in the world?
There is no exact number available for the total population of Jersey tiger moths.
Where does a Jersey tiger live?
The population of Jersey tiger moths is distributed across Europe and the range includes Latvia, Estonia, and the Mediterranean coast. This moth is also found in Russia and the range includes the Urals, Rhodes, Asia Minor, southern Turkmenistan, and Iran. The Jersey tiger is not endemic to a certain place.
What is a Jersey tiger's habitat?
The habitat of a Jersey tiger consists of coastal cliffs, gardens, towns, and beaches.
Who does Jersey tiger live with?
Not much is known about whether this tiger moth is solitary or lives in groups. A group of adults of this subspecies tends to aestivate, meaning they shelter from the heat of summer in the Valley of the Butterflies.
How long does a Jersey tiger live?
The exact lifespan of a Jersey tiger moth is unknown. The longest-living moth species is thought to be the Arctic woolly bear moth (Gynaephora groenlandica), found in the Canadian Arctic on Ellesmere Island.
How do they reproduce?
Not a lot is known about the reproduction of the Jersey tiger moth, but just like other tiger moths, such as the garden tiger moth, harnessed tiger moth, Virginian tiger moth and butterflies, it has been recorded that the Jersey tiger also undergoes a full metamorphosis.
They go through four stages which are egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa and adult stage.
The exact number of eggs laid by this moth is unknown.
What is their conservation status?
The conservation status of this tiger moth is Not Evaluated on the IUCN Red List, but they are considered to be scarce. Climate change is affecting the population of the Jersey tiger.
Jersey Tiger Fun Facts
What do Jersey tigers look like?
The Jersey tiger is distinct from other moths by its white, creamy streaks or stripes over the dark-colored forewings. The underwings might be yellow in color with black spots or patches of reddish-orange in color with black spots in this species.
How cute are they?
These moths are considered cute because of their bright-colored plumage.
How do they communicate?
Moths tend to communicate through their distinct coloration as a visual cue or signal and produce clicking sounds.
How big is a Jersey tiger?
The exact measurements of the Jersey tiger moth are not known.
How fast can a Jersey tiger fly?
The flying speed of the Jersey tiger is unknown, but the wingspan of an adult is around 2-2.6 in (5-6.6 cm). The wingspan of these moths is similar to that of a ghost moth and more than the wingspan of a plume moth.
How much does a Jersey tiger weigh?
The weight of a Jersey tiger moth is unknown.
What are the male and female names of the species?
Males and females of the Jersey tiger moth do not have any particular names.
What would you call a baby Jersey tiger?
Babies or young ones of the Jersey tiger moth (Euplagia quadripunctaria) are referred to as caterpillars or larvae.
What do they eat?
The caterpillars are known to be polyphagous and feeding happens on plants like nettles, dandelions, raspberries, ground ivy, plantain, lettuce, borage, white-deadnettle, and hemp-agrimony.
Are they poisonous?
Not much is known about whether the Jersey tiger moth is poisonous or not. However, the bright color of the Jersey tiger is a signal to predators about their bitter taste which is a defense mechanism. Also, these moths feed on plants that have chemicals in so they taste bad which is another defense mechanism against predators.
Would they make a good pet?
There is not much information available about whether a Jersey tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) is a good pet. However, it is a wild creature which should be allowed to fly freely rather than trapped in a box.
Did you know...
Caterpillars can be spotted from September to May and tend to overwinter as larvae.
The Jersey tiger was described in 1761 by Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus.
The Jersey tiger has been recorded to fly close to hemp-agrimony (Eupatorium cannabium) and it tends to camouflage and goes unnoticed around these plants.
The Jersey tiger tends to be attracted to light during the night and many have been observed around to fly towards a light in a garden in July or early August. The Jersey tiger tends to fly during the day and at night.
The Jersey tiger tends to migrate northwards in the summer season from their usual breeding grounds.
It has been observed that specimens from Ireland and northern England are comparatively darker than others from the same family.
Can you hold a tiger moth?
Not a lot is known about the tiger moth being held, but it is believed that this moth can be irritating when held and its hair can be an irritant to the skin.
Are Jersey tiger moths rare in the UK?
The Jersey tiger is known to be a localized species in the UK and in the British Isles, and it is a rare migrant.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other arthropods from our soldier beetle facts and panda ant facts pages.
You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Jersey tiger coloring pages.
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With 3+ years of research and content writing experience across several niches, especially on education, technology, and business topics. Joan holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Anatomy from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria, and has worked as a researcher and writer for organizations across Nigeria, the US, the UK, and Germany. Joan enjoys meditation, watching movies, and learning new languages in her free time.
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