Mullein
Its caterpillar is boldly patterned in yellow, white and black and feeds fully exposed in daylight, unlike most moth caterpillars that hide.
| Where | Gardens, waste ground and open habitats |
|---|---|
| Size | 45 to 56 mm wingspan |
| When | April to July |
The Mullein has buff forewings with a dark brown stripe along each edge, cut by a thin pale line, and rests stretched out to resemble a broken plant stem.
It flies from April to July over gardens, waste ground and open habitats, and the caterpillar is often seen more than the adult, feeding openly on mullein, buddleia and figwort.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Brown, Yellow
Active
Night
To people
Attracted to light; harmless to people.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Similar size at about 45 mm wingspan, but the Water Betony is paler and duller with a greyer costal streak, and its caterpillar feeds on figwort rather than mullein.
Questions
Is the Mullein dangerous to people?
Attracted to light; harmless to people.
When can you see the Mullein?
The Mullein can be seen from April to July, at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by Сергій Сучков, CC BY‑SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
The plate on this page is shared under the same licence as its source, CC BY-SA.
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Butterflies and moths›Owlet moths›Cucullia
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.