Tigers in the garden

THE Garden Tiger Moth is a very impressive insect.

Its sturdy shoulders are covered in thick brown fur, with a thin line of contrasting red hairs around its head.

Its front wings are white or creamcoloured, and these are overlain with a pattern of brown blotches.

The orange hind wings are normally hidden when at rest, but when the moth feels threatened it quickly flashes these open to display stunning blue ‘eyespots’.

These eyespots help scare away predators.

While Garden Tigers taste very unpalatable to birds, the moth can also exude an unpleasant yellow fluid from behind its head when it is threatened, making it even more distasteful.

As Tiger Moths fly at night, they are targets for hungry bats. Bats hunt using echo location, sending out signals that detect flying insects.

Colourful ‘eye spots’ on the moths hind wings warn predators to stay away

It is thought, however, that some species of Tiger Moth can interfere with these signals by sending out their own ultrasonic clicking sounds.

These clicks confuse the bats, allowing the moth extra time to escape.

The caterpillar of the Garden Tiger Moth is called a ‘woolly bear’, mainly because it is covered in very long hairs.

These hairs make the caterpillar unpleasant for predators to eat, which is very helpful as the caterpillar must survive all winter before it makes its cocoon in the springtime.

This article was written by Rosaleen Dwyer, County Heritage Officer with South Dublin County Council, as part of her weekly Echo column, Nature on our Doorsteps.