Cinnabar Moths Are Perfectly Named For Their Striking Red And Black Looks

This species is so named due to the colour of the hindwings and the markings on the forewings which make it unmistakeable. There is little variation although on rare occasions the pinkish markings are replaced with yellow, or the forewing is red with a black border or the wings are completely black. Easily disturbed by day and flies in sunshine. Also flies after dark.

And I would have been wrong. This is a cinnabar moth. It is possible to make an educated guess between moth and butterfly by sight, but it has nothing to do with the colors. Moths often have wider, furrier bodies and their wings lay flat when they are at rest.These moths are named after the mineral cinnabar, which is an ore of mercury. So yeah, it's very toxic, but it's also known for its bright red color. In the days before synthetic dyes and a modern understanding of toxicity, cinnabar was prized in jewellery and as a pigment. These days, it's still mined and heated to create liquid mercury, but we don't use it as a pigment.