Why the pretty Police Car Moth has a strange name? Updated 30 Jan 2023.
Police Car Moth
Look out! Here come the cops! No, wait. It’s just a Police Car Moth.
Years ago, all police cars were black and white. Nowadays they can be any colour.
The Police Car Moth (Gnophaela vermiculata) is a black and white moth. Because of that, it was named after the colour of police cars in their early days.
The Police Car Moth is a member of the Erebidae family, which consists of a large variety of moths of many different shapes, sizes and colours. It can be found in western U.S.A and Canada.
The wingspan of the Police Car Moth is about 54mm (2.1 inches). Unlike most moths that fly only at night, the Police Car is a diurnal moth. Also unlike many butterflies and moths that live for only about one month, the Police Car has just one generation per year.
Adults feed on the nectar of various flowers, especially Cirsium and Solidago.
The Larvae
The larvae feed on the plants themselves, not the nectar. They prefer different species of plants than the adults, mainly Lithospermum, Hackelia and Hackelia.
The caterpillars are black and yellow with a dark-red head. The entire body is covered with patches of stiff, black hairs.
The difference between moths and butterflies
Most moths are drab in colour and nocturnal. Some, however, like the Police Car Moth, are colourful and fly during the day and might be mistaken for a butterfly.
You can tell the difference between a moth and a butterfly by looking at the antennae. Butterflies have a bare antennae with a little knob on the tip. The antenna of a moth, on the other hand, has a bunch of branches along its length, which resemble a fern.
I just have to respond to this, because I was the one who gave this moth it’s name. It goes back to the late 90’s when I was working for the Royal Alberta Museum as the invertebrate zoology technician and I was constantly being asked by our visitors about various insects they had seen. This was one of the more common insects I was asked about and the problem was I could not find a common name for it, so I decided to give it one and Police Car Moth came to mind. My friend John Acorn was working on his soon to be published book “Bugs of Alberta” and he decided to put this species in it and use my suggested name. The name caught on and is now the accepted common name. My one claim to fame.
Hello Terry, Thank you very much for the information. I have several of Acorn’s books including the one on bugs. I have read that this moth is also called the Green Lattice although it is not green. Hope you enjoy my website. Tom
Noticed the interesting discussion on the ” Police Car Moth__ common name (Terry Thormin).
Wondered if Terry equated the mustard patches on either side of the forward thorax to the headlights of the police car?
Hi Jim. Good point. I had not thought of that.