| Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria (Poda, 1761)) |
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Scientific name: Euplagia quadripunctaria (Poda, 1761) Common name: Jersey Tiger Other names: (Other scientific name: Callimorpha quadripunctaria) French name: Écaille chinée Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Heterocera Family: Arctiidae Subfamily: Callimorphinae Wingspan: 50-60 mm Biotope: Open woodlands and bushes. Geographic area: Europe except extreme northern area, as far as Caucasia and Iran. Flight time: Late June to late August. Number of generations : 1 Caterpillar: Orange on the back with orange hairs, pink-brown on the sides with a white median line and white hairs. Host plant: Many grasses like Dandelion and many broad-leaved deciduous trees too. |
The Jersey Tiger's forewings are black with pale yellow V-shaped stripes. The hindwings are red with four big black spots. The thorax is black with yellow stripes. Imagos are flying during the day and during the night, they are often seen at the end of the afternoon. The eggs are laid in August. The Jersey Tiger over winters as a caterpillar. |
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I saw this Jersey Tiger in my garden during the night. It was gathering nectar on lavender. |
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Here is a picture on which you can see the black spots on the hind wings. |
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On Paros Island, at Petaloudes, is the Butterfly Valley. This a small luxuriant and leafy area contrasting with the dry landscape of the island. You can find here clouds of Jersey Tigers (this must be like what you can find on the Rhodes island). |
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If many butterfly species decrease in number, it seems this is not the case with Jersey Tigers in the Paris area. I observe more and more of them from year to year. |
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Petaloudes - Butterfly Valley: The Jersey Tigers concentrates on ivy leaves. At the beginning of the visit we do not see any butterfly. But as soon as we get used we see Jersey Tigers everywhere. |
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Petaloudes - Butterfly Valley: The Jersey Tigers also concentrate in the shade of rock face shelters. For the preservation of this site you have to avoid to make them fly. This is tempting as you can see their beautiful red colour only when they fly. It is said that the population is decreasing because of tourism. |
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This Jersey Tiger is showing the colour of its underwear. |
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I have found this caterpillar on the ground, on the lawn in my garden. I have put this caterpillar on a Cherry laurel leaf to take close-up views. I have freed it immediately after the photo session. |
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Difficult to know the host plant as I have found this caterpillar on the garage's door (whose paint is cracking with age). Here is one view showing the upper side. |
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Here is a lateral side view. |
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I am generally used to observing imagos early August in my garden. So this caterpillar has a little less than two month for its metamorphosis. |
André Bon September 2018