White Ermine

Fascinating facts about the White Ermine

• The white ermine's antennae are strikingly long, with each branch measuring three to five times the diameter of the stem, much longer than those of the similar Spilosoma urticae. The antennae are also black in colour, matching the moth's overall dark markings.
• With a wingspan of 34-48 mm, the white ermine displays a highly variable wing pattern that can range from entirely milky white to being densely covered with black dots. Regardless of the overall colouration, the forewings always carry some black dots along the costa and additional rows across the disc. Hindwings often show one or several black dots, though occasionally they may be spotless.
• The white ermine is on the wing from May through September, with the exact timing shifting according to latitude and local climate. In the northern parts of its range it may appear later in the season, while southern populations start earlier. Adults are avoided by birds because the moth is poisonous, providing it with a defensive advantage.
• The white ermine moth is found throughout the temperate belt of Eurasia, extending from Europe through Kazakhstan and southern Siberia to the Amur Region, India, China, Korea and Japan. Its distribution therefore spans both western and eastern parts of the continent, covering a wide latitudinal range. In China several sibling species occur, indicating a richer local diversity within its Asian range.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the White Ermine

In the moonlit gardens, the White Ermine moth dances with ethereal elegance, its delicate wings beating in a hypnotic rhythm as it flutters from bloom to bloom. With a subtle sheen to its furlike scales, this nocturnal wanderer navigates the shadows with an uncanny grace, its feathery antennae twitching like sensitive fingers as it tracks the sweet scent of nectar. As it alights upon a flower, the White Ermine's ghostly form seems to shimmer and dissolve into the surrounding darkness, leaving behind only the faintest whisper of its presence.

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