White ermine
Its caterpillars store enough plant toxins from stinging nettle and other host plants that birds generally leave them alone.
| Where | Gardens, hedgerows and waste ground |
|---|---|
| Size | 34 to 48 mm wingspan |
| When | May to July |
It is a medium sized moth with white wings speckled with variable amounts of black dots, sometimes almost unmarked and sometimes heavily spotted, plus a hairy body with black and yellow markings along the abdomen. Wingspan is about 34 to 48 mm.
Caterpillars feed on stinging nettle, dock, dandelion and other low plants, and their long bristly hairs are thought to deter birds along with distasteful compounds picked up from their food plants.
Traits
Habitat
Garden
Colour
White, Black
Active
Night
To people
Harmless
Activity through the year
Often confused with
The muslin moth is slightly smaller at 30 to 43 mm wingspan, and males are grey-brown rather than white, while females lack the yellow and black abdomen markings of the white ermine.
Questions
Is the White ermine dangerous to people?
The White ermine is harmless to people.
When can you see the White ermine?
The White ermine can be seen from May to July, at night.
Plate retouched from a photo by David Short from Windsor, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Erebid moths›Spilosoma
Last updated 2026-09-26. Every entry is checked against published sources.