Common nettle-tap
Unlike most moths, the Common nettle-tap flies by day with a jerky, pirouetting flight, often swarming in numbers around a single clump of stinging nettles.
| Where | Waste ground, hedgerows and gardens |
|---|---|
| Size | 10 to 15 mm wingspan |
| When | April to September |
The Common nettle-tap is a small day-flying moth with mottled brown and grey wings, sometimes frosted in appearance, and a fringe with a faintly chequered edge. It is easily overlooked until disturbed, when several may flutter up at once from the same nettle patch.
Two generations fly between May and September, with adults most active on warm, sunny days. Caterpillars feed on stinging nettle and related plants, spinning leaves together for shelter as they grow.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Brown, Grey
Active
Day
To people
Harmless to people; often seen flying around nettle patches in daylight.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
A similar 11 to 15 mm wingspan, but colored orangey to reddish brown with bright red-brown fringe hairs, lacking the mottled grey patchwork of the Common nettle-tap.
Questions
Is the Common nettle-tap dangerous to people?
Harmless to people; often seen flying around nettle patches in daylight.
When can you see the Common nettle-tap?
The Common nettle-tap can be seen from April to September, by day.
Plate retouched from a photo by s173, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Metalmark moths›Anthophila
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.