Bug FAQGarden Carpet
Xanthorhoe fluctuata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Geometridae
Source: Wikipedia
Adult garden carpet moths have a wingspan of about 27 to 31 mm and fly from spring through autumn, often attracted to lights at night. The larvae are green or grey with pale diamond marks and feed on a range of cruciferous plants, including garden brassicas and wild species.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
The forewings are a grey-white colour with three uneven black spots along the leading edge, the middle spot being the largest. In the most common form the background is a dirty white and the middle band is faint or missing on the rear half of the wing.
Source: Wikipedia
Size
The moth’s wingspan measures roughly 27 to 31 mm (about 1.1 to 1.2 inches).
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
It is common throughout the Palearctic region, from Ireland across Europe to Japan, and also occurs in the Near East and North Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
What it eats
Caterpillars are green or grey with pale diamond-shaped markings on the back. They mainly eat cruciferous plants such as cultivated cabbages, wild radish, garlic mustard, wall-rocket, wallflower and flixweed, and have also been seen on nasturtium.
Source: Wikipedia
Life cycle
The species produces two or three generations per year, giving it a long flight period. It spends the winter months in the pupal stage.
Source: Wikipedia
When you see it
Adults can be observed from April through October in Britain. They are nocturnal and are often drawn to artificial lights.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it comes from
Its natural range covers the entire Palearctic, spanning Europe, Asia, the Near East and North Africa.
Source: Wikipedia
Lookalikes
The form known as ab. ochreata has an overall ochre-brown ground colour. The form ab. neapolisata appears much darker with a brown-grey tint.
Source: Wikipedia
More photos
Questions people ask
Do garden carpet moths damage garden vegetables?
Yes, their larvae feed on many cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and can chew the leaves, causing damage.
Source: Wikipedia
When are garden carpet moths active?
Adults are on the wing from early spring to late autumn and are attracted to lights at night.
Source: Wikipedia
How big are garden carpet moths?
They have a wingspan of roughly 27 to 31 mm, about an inch wide.
Source: Wikipedia
What do the caterpillars look like?
The caterpillars are green or grey with pale diamond-shaped markings along their backs.
Source: Wikipedia
Same family (Geometridae)
Willow BeautyPeribatodes rhomboidaria
Pale BeautyCampaea perlataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Large Lace-border MothScopula limboundataDamages trees, gardens or crops
Riband WaveIdaea aversata
Yellow Shell MothCamptogramma bilineata
Large Maple Spanworm MothProchoerodes lineolaDamages trees, gardens or cropsSources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garden_carpet
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-22 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-22.