Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae)

Here’s a detailed overview of the Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) — one of Europe’s most striking day-flying moths:

🐞 Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae)

🔹 Taxonomy

• Order: Lepidoptera (butterflies & moths)
• Family: Zygaenidae (Burnet moths)
• Genus: Zygaena
• Species: Z. filipendulae
• Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758)

🔹 Identification

• Wingspan: 30–40 mm
• Forewings: Glossy black or dark metallic green with six vivid red spots (sometimes fused or joined)
• Hindwings: Uniform red with a narrow black margin
• Body: Robust, hairy, black with a red collar beneath the head in worn individuals
• Flight: Slow, fluttering, but visibly day‑active (diurnal)

🔹 Distribution

• Widespread across:
  • Europe (from Ireland to Russia)
  • North Africa
  • Western Asia
• Most common in temperate lowlands, rarer at altitude or in very dry Mediterranean zones

🔹 Habitat

• Flower-rich grasslands, meadows, coastal dunes, road verges, chalk downland
• Prefers warm, sheltered spots with abundant leguminous flowers

🔹 Life Cycle

🥚 Eggs

• Laid singly or in small batches on the underside of vetches, clovers, or bird’s-foot trefoil

🐛 Larvae (Caterpillars)

• Length ~20 mm when fully grown
• Pale green or yellow‑green with a series of black dorsal spots outlined in yellow
• Feed gregariously on host‑plant foliage from late summer into autumn
• Overwinter as half‑grown larvae in silken hibernacula

🐛 Pupae (Chrysalises)

• Form in a loose cocoon among grasses in spring
• Pupation lasts ~2–3 weeks

🦋 Adults

• Emerge June–August (earlier in the south)
• Nectar‑feeders on thistles, knapweeds, buttercups, bramble, scabious, etc.

🔹 Behavior & Defense

• Aposematic coloration: Red and black warn predators of their toxicity
• Cyanogenic glycosides in their bodies can release hydrogen cyanide if attacked
• Often bask with wings held open to display warning colors

🔹 Conservation Status

• IUCN: Not assessed globally, but locally common in suitable habitat
• Threats:
  • Loss of flower‑rich meadows to intensive agriculture
  • Overgrazing or undergrazing (both reduce host‑plant abundance)
• Conservation measures:
  • Maintain and restore wildflower grasslands
  • Leave field margins uncut until after caterpillar feeding season

🔹 Similar Species

• Narrow‑bordered Five‑spot Burnet (Z. lonicerae) – five rather than six spots, smaller size
• Forester moths (Family Zygaenidae: Adscita, Jordanita spp.) – metallic green forewings, narrower bodies, with 2–3 spots or none

🔹 Fun Facts

• They’re one of the few diurnal moths you’ll see regularly in sunshine
• Spot fusion can vary: some individuals show only 4–5 distinct red spots
• First described by Linnaeus in 1758, they remain a favourite of naturalists and photographers

📸 Observation Tips

• Visit flower-rich grassland on warm, sunny days (10 am–4 pm)
• Walk slowly along meadow edges and road verges—they’re often settled on thistles or knapweeds
• Best time to find larvae is late summer to early autumn on vetches and clovers

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