Cinnabar

Name: Cinnabar

Scientific name: Tyria jacobaeae

Category: Minibeasts

Nature Stars: 50

What are nature stars?

About: A common day-flying moth of rough grassland and hedgerows, where the black and yellow banded caterpillars feed on ragwort. Slaty black with two red spots and two pinky-red stripes on the rounded front wings: the hind wings are pinky-red, bordered black. About 2cm long. Adults are on the wing during the summer.

How to identify: Told from the similar burnet moths by the broader wings and different pattern of red and black.

Where: Widespread

Natural Superpowers

• Predator: 10
• Agility: 70
• Rarity: 30
• Cute factor: 40
• Traveller: 50

Fantastic fact: Named after the red mineral Cinnabar, an ore of the metal Mercury.

Photograph credit: Richard Burkmar