Cinnabar Moth vs Blood-red Cymothoe
Side-by-side species comparison
| Attribute | Cinnabar Moth | Blood-red Cymothoe |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Tyria jacobaeae | Cymothoe sangaris |
| Order | Lepidoptera | Lepidoptera |
| Family | Erebidae | Nymphalidae |
| Size | 32-42 mm wingspan | 55-70 mm wingspan |
| Habitat | Beaches & Coastal | Forests |
| Diet | Omnivores | Blood Feeders |
| Regions | Europe, central Asia (introduced to Australasia and Americas) | Central Africa (Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, DRC) |
| Conservation | Least Concern | Least Concern |
Cinnabar Moth
A day-flying moth with charcoal-black wings marked with crimson-red stripes and spots. It has been deliberately introduced worldwide as a biological control agent for ragwort.
Did You Know?
Its caterpillars store toxic alkaloids from ragwort, making them so distasteful that birds learn to avoid them.
Blood-red Cymothoe
A strikingly sexually dimorphic butterfly where males are vivid blood-red and females are brown with white bands. It is one of the most recognizable butterflies in Central African forests. Flight is relatively slow and gliding.
Did You Know?
The blood-red coloration of males is so vivid that early European explorers initially mistook them for a different species from the brown females.