Mint Moth

Pyrausta aurata · Order: Lepidoptera · Family: Crambidae

Also called: Small Purple & Gold

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Mint Moth
Photo: Céline, CC BY

The mint moth has a wingspan of about 0.7 to 0.8 in and shows purplish-brown forewings with golden yellow markings, while its hindwings are dark with a broad yellow band across the middle. It lives in chalk and limestone grasslands, woodlands, marshes and gardens across most of Europe, North Africa, and a wide stretch of Asia from Siberia to Japan. Adults fly both day and night from April to September and can produce two generations per season in north-west Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

How to recognize it

Forewings are purplish-brown with golden yellow spots, and hindwings are dark with a single wide yellow band across the centre.

Source: Wikipedia

Size

Wingspan measures 18 to 20 mm, roughly 0.7 to 0.8 in.

Source: Wikipedia

What it eats

Larvae feed mainly on mint species such as spearmint and round-leaf mint, but also on marjoram, sage, lemon balm, catnip and Calamintha.

Source: Wikipedia

Life cycle

In the UK it has two broods, one in May-June and another in July-August. Across north-west Europe adults are present from April to the end of September and can produce two generations each season.

Source: Wikipedia

When you see it

Adults are active both during the day and at night. In north-west Europe they can be seen from April through September.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

Occurs throughout most of Europe, North Africa and North Asia.

Source: Wikipedia

Lookalikes

It resembles the slightly larger Pyrausta purpuralis, which has a broader post-median band usually broken into at least three yellow spots.

Source: Wikipedia

Questions people ask

When can I see mint moths?

Adults fly from April to September, both day and night, with two generations in north-west Europe.

Source: Wikipedia

How can I tell a mint moth from similar species?

Look for purplish-brown forewings with golden yellow markings and a single broad yellow band on dark hindwings; the similar Pyrausta purpuralis has a larger size and a band split into several spots.

Source: Wikipedia

Same family (Crambidae)

Box Tree MothBox Tree MothCydalima perspectalisDamages trees, gardens or cropsCelery Leaftier MothCelery Leaftier MothUdea rubigalisDamages trees, gardens or cropsElegant Grass-veneerElegant Grass-veneerMicrocrambus elegansHawaiian Beet Webworm MothHawaiian Beet Webworm MothSpoladea recurvalisDamages trees, gardens or cropsGarden Grass-veneerGarden Grass-veneerChrysoteuchia culmellaDamages trees, gardens or cropsBluegrass Webworm MothBluegrass Webworm MothParapediasia teterrellusDamages trees, gardens or crops

Sources

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

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.

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