Mottled Grasshopper vs Cinnabar Moth

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Mottled Grasshopper Cinnabar Moth
Scientific Name Myrmeleotettix maculatus Tyria jacobaeae
Order Orthoptera Lepidoptera
Family Acrididae Erebidae
Size 11-19mm 32-42 mm wingspan
Habitat Beaches & Coastal Beaches & Coastal
Diet Herbivores Omnivores
Regions Europe Europe, central Asia (introduced to Australasia and Americas)
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Mottled Grasshopper

A small variable grasshopper with distinctively clubbed antennae in males. Colors range from green to brown to purple.

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Did You Know?

Males have uniquely club-tipped antennae unlike any other European grasshopper species.

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.

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Did You Know?

Its caterpillars store toxic alkaloids from ragwort, making them so distasteful that birds learn to avoid them.