Dock Bug vs Ghost Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Dock Bug Ghost Moth
Scientific Name Coreus marginatus Hepialus humuli
Order Hemiptera Lepidoptera
Family Coreidae Hepialidae
Size 12-15 mm 44-65 mm wingspan
Habitat Grasslands Grasslands
Diet Sap Feeders Root Feeders
Regions Europe, Western Asia Europe, western Asia
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Dock Bug

A common European squash bug relative that feeds on dock and sorrel plants. It has a distinctively wide, flattened abdomen with expanded margins.

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Did You Know?

When handled, it releases a scent that many people describe as smelling distinctly like green apples.

Ghost Moth

Males are ghostly white and perform an eerie hovering dance over grassland at dusk to attract brownish females. This primitive moth has very short antennae and no functional mouthparts.

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Did You Know?

Pendulum-like swaying of white males above grass at twilight gives them a genuinely ghostly appearance.