Cape Ivy Moth

Diota rostrata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Erebidae

Damages trees, gardens or crops. The larvae feed on a variety of garden and crop plants, so they can damage gardens and agricultural crops.

Source: Wikipedia

Cape Ivy Moth
Photo: Henry de Lange, CC BY

Adults have cream-colored forewings with brown mottling and black dots. Forewing length is about 13 to 16 mm.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

The forewings measure 13 to 16 mm long.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae eat many plants, including several Senecio species, Delairea odorata, Mikaniopsis cissampelina, Kleinia abyssinica, safflower, carrot and Bidens pilosa.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

Diota rostrata belongs to the subfamily Arctiinae and was first described in 1860.

Source: Wikipedia

More photos

Cape Ivy Moth photo 3
Photo: Sunčana Bradley, CC BY

Questions people ask

What do the caterpillars eat?

They feed on a wide range of plants such as Senecio species, carrot, safflower and other garden weeds.

Source: Wikipedia

How big are Cape Ivy Moths?

The forewings are about 13 to 16 mm long.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Erebidae)

Spongy MothSpongy MothLymantria disparDamages trees, gardens or cropsFall Webworm MothFall Webworm MothHyphantria cuneaDamages trees, gardens or cropsBrown-tail MothBrown-tail MothEuproctis chrysorrhoeaCan irritate skinIsabella Tiger MothIsabella Tiger MothPyrrharctia isabellaVirginian Tiger MothVirginian Tiger MothSpilosoma virginicaCan irritate skinSalt Marsh MothSalt Marsh MothEstigmene acrea

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diota_rostrata

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.

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