Marbled white moth
This tiger moth flies by day like a butterfly, visiting flowers across a huge range spanning South, East and Southeast Asia.
| Where | Open ground across South and East Asia |
|---|---|
| Size | 40 to 54 mm wingspan |
| When | March to January |
The marbled white moth has broad, cream white forewings crossed by brown veins and a Y shaped brown mark, a yellow head and neck plate, and a white thorax marked with black lines. Wingspan measures 40 to 54 mm, and the abdomen is pale with a row of black dorsal spots.
Adults fly in the open by day, visiting flowers alongside butterflies, and caterpillars feed on weedy daisy family plants such as Crassocephalum and Gynura that often colonise disturbed ground and roadsides.
Traits
Habitat
Grassland
Colour
White, Brown, Yellow
Active
Day
To people
Day flying and often seen visiting flowers alongside butterflies; not reported to bite or sting.
Activity through the year
Often confused with
Has predominantly dark, blackish wings finely marked with pale veins and small spots, unlike the marbled white moth's mostly white wings crossed by brown veins and patches.
Questions
Is the Marbled white moth dangerous to people?
Day flying and often seen visiting flowers alongside butterflies; not reported to bite or sting.
When can you see the Marbled white moth?
The Marbled white moth can be seen from March to January, by day.
Plate retouched from a museum specimen photo by Taiwan Biodiversity Research Institute, CC BY 4.0, GBIF Licence
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Butterflies and moths›Erebid moths›Nyctemera
Last updated 2026-09-27. Every entry is checked against published sources.