Jersey tiger
It rests with its striped forewings folded into a sharp tent, hiding bold orange hindwings that flash into view only in flight.
| Where | Gardens, coastal cliffs and woodland edges |
|---|---|
| Size | 52 to 65 mm wingspan |
| When | July to August |
The forewings are black with cream diagonal stripes in a zebra-like pattern, folded tent-like at rest over hindwings that are usually orange.
Caterpillars overwinter while still small and feed through spring on nettle and other low-growing herbaceous plants before pupating.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
Black, White, Orange
Active
Day and night
To people
Harmless
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The scarlet tiger has bold white and cream spots on black forewings rather than the jersey tiger's continuous diagonal stripes.
Questions
Is the Jersey tiger dangerous to people?
The Jersey tiger is harmless to people.
When can you see the Jersey tiger?
The Jersey tiger can be seen from July to August, by day and at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by Sylwia Grzywacz, 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.
Report a mistake in this entry
Butterflies and moths›Erebid moths›Euplagia
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.