Garden grass-veneer
It rests head-down on a grass stalk by day and bursts into a short, darting flight the instant it is disturbed.
| Where | Grassland, meadows and gardens |
|---|---|
| Size | 18 to 24 mm wingspan |
| When | June to August |
This small brown moth has a whitish streak branching along the wing veins and a metallic golden fringe to the forewing, with a wingspan of 18 to 24 mm.
Caterpillars feed low down inside grass stems near the base, and the adults are among the most commonly disturbed moths when walking through long grass in summer.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
Brown, Metallic
Active
Day and night
To people
Harmless
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The straw grass-veneer is slightly smaller, with a wingspan of about 16 to 20 mm, and its forewing lacks the angled cross-lines reaching the wingtip that mark the garden grass-veneer.
Questions
Is the Garden grass-veneer dangerous to people?
The Garden grass-veneer is harmless to people.
When can you see the Garden grass-veneer?
The Garden grass-veneer can be seen from June to August, by day and at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by Donald Hobern from Copenhagen, Denmark, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
Report a mistake in this entry
Butterflies and moths›Grass moths›Chrysoteuchia
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.