Arctia caja
(Linnaeus, 1758) · speciesAt a glance
Sources9 archives
Databases and archives Arctia caja's data was compiled from.
WikipediaWikimedia Foundation13 languages↗
BioWikiNetmultilingual Wikipediamultilingual↗
GBIFGlobal Biodiversity Information Facility155 264 records↗
ENAEuropean Nucleotide Archive · EMBL-EBI124 eDNA detections↗
BOLD SystemsCentre for Biodiversity Genomics108 specimens↗
Open Tree of LifeOpenTreephylogeny backbone↗
GoaTGenomes on a Tree · Sangergenome & karyotype↗
NCBIUS National Library of Medicinegenome & karyotype↗
GLoBIGlobal Biotic Interactionsbiotic interactions↗Every layer below draws on the sources above — open one to explore it, or use ← → to move between tabs.
The garden tiger moth or great tiger mothArctia caja, Butterflies and Moths of North America (Arctia caja) is a moth of the family Erebidae. Arctia caja is a northern species found in the US, Canada, and Europe. The moth prefers cold climates with temperate seasonality, as the larvae overwinter, and preferentially chooses host plants that produce pyrrolizidine alkaloids. However, garden tiger moths are generalists, and will pick many different plants to use as larval host plants. The conspicuous patterns on its wings serve as a warning to predators because the moth's body fluids are poisonous. Their effects are not yet fully known, but these toxins contain quantities of neurotoxic choline esters which act by interfering with the acetylcholine receptor. The colours are also ideal for frightening predators such as small birds—the moth normally hides its hindwings under the cryptic forewings when resting. Between stored toxins, conspicuous warning coloration, and sound cues that are generated mostly as a response to bats, A. caja clearly presents itself as an inedible target for predators.
No narrative description available for this taxon yet.
Diet & foraging2
A DNA barcode is a short, standardised stretch of genes that works like a fingerprint — enough to tell one species from another. Below is the molecular trace Arctia caja has left across the world's sequence archives.
At a glance
★ the standard DNA barcode for this group — the short region actually read to tell this species apart. The rest are extra genes sequenced along the way.
The complete instruction manual Arctia caja carries — its genome. We read it from three angles — how big it is, how the DNA is packed into chromosomes, and how completely it has been sequenced — and explain how to read each value as you go.
Genome sizehow big the whole instruction manual is
Measured in base pairs (bp) — the individual letters of DNA (human ≈ 3.2 Gb, a bacterium a few million). The chart places this genome on a logarithmic scale — each step to the right is ten times bigger — among reference organisms. Across species a bigger genome loosely tracks with larger cells, slower growth and lower-energy lifestyles (powered flight favours small genomes) — yet it does not imply more genes or a more advanced organism (the long-standing C-value paradox).
Chromosomes & ploidyhow the DNA is packaged
2n is the full chromosome count in a normal body cell; n is a gamete (egg or sperm), which carries half. Ploidy is how many complete chromosome sets each cell holds — 2× (diploid) is typical for animals, while higher levels (polyploidy) are common in plants. Click any value below to see the underlying records and sources.
Sequencing statusassembly quality — how far to trust these numbers
Assembly level tells you how finished the sequence is — from fragmented contigs, through scaffolds, up to a full chromosome-level assembly. BUSCO % estimates completeness: the share of genes expected to be present that were actually found. These describe the data quality, not the organism.
Record type155 264 records
Origin
Range
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Museum / Voucheredphysical evidence
Backed by a physical specimen — a herbarium sheet, sample or voucher held in a collection. “Vouchered” means supported by material evidence, not just an observation.
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Wildobservation + sensor
Human sightings and records, or camera-trap / sensor detections — someone (or a device) saw or captured the species in the wild.
Holding institutions39 of 96 geolocated
Institutions and collections holding physical, vouchered specimens of this species — click a row to fly to it on the map.
| Institution | Specimens |
|---|---|
| DanishLepidopterologicalSocietylocation not on record | 2 806 |
| Helsinki, FI | 1 163 |
| Provincia di Livornolocation not on record | 574 |
| Zürich, CH | 321 |
| New Haven, US | 232 |
| Tartu, EE | 213 |
| Muzeum Górnośląskie w Bytomiulocation not on record | 168 |
| NHMOlocation not on record | 161 |
| Provo, US | 160 |
| Bern, CH | 145 |
| Natural History Museum Rotterdamlocation not on record | 139 |
| Salzburg, AT | 132 |
| Museum Ludovicae Ulricae, Zoology Institute of the University of Uppsalalocation not on record | 109 |
| Kuopio, FI | 77 |
| Philadelphia, US | 74 |
| University of Alberta Museums (UAM)location not on record | 69 |
| ZMAAlocation not on record | 67 |
| SLU Artdatabankenlocation not on record | 66 |
| UMUlocation not on record | 62 |
| Tromsø, NO | 54 |
| Frauenfeld, CH | 53 |
| East Lansing, US | 53 |
| Archäologie und Museum Baselland - Museum.BLlocation not on record | 50 |
| Tallinn, EE | 37 |
| NMOKlocation not on record | 36 |
| Museo civico di Storia naturale Giacomo Doria di Genova | Giacomo Doria Natural History Museum in Genoalocation not on record | 35 |
| Podgorica, ME | 34 |
| Vernal, US | 31 |
| UNHClocation not on record | 31 |
| Paro, BT | 30 |
| St. Paul, US | 29 |
| CBDClocation not on record | 29 |
| Dhaka, BD | 28 |
| KOMlocation not on record | 25 |
| NTNU-VMlocation not on record | 25 |
| Cambridge, US | 25 |
| Cleveland Museum of Natural History, OH (CLEV)location not on record | 25 |
| Colorado State Universitylocation not on record | 23 |
| Natural History Museum of Utahlocation not on record | 21 |
| John May Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 20 |
| SFRAlocation not on record | 19 |
| Geneva, CH | 19 |
| Musee d'Histoire Naturallelocation not on record | 18 |
| Royal Saskatchewan Museumlocation not on record | 18 |
| Durban Natural Science Museumlocation not on record | 17 |
| NCMGlocation not on record | 15 |
| Nijmegen, NL | 13 |
| MZLUlocation not on record | 13 |
| Museum zu Allerheiligen Schaffhausenlocation not on record | 13 |
| Naturmuseum St. Gallenlocation not on record | 13 |
| Saint John, CA | 12 |
| State Museum of Natural History of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukrainelocation not on record | 12 |
| Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznańlocation not on record | 11 |
| University of Alabamalocation not on record | 10 |
| DABUHlocation not on record | 10 |
| JP | 9 |
| WWUlocation not on record | 9 |
| KIRMlocation not on record | 8 |
| Toronto, CA | 8 |
| RMZlocation not on record | 7 |
| Banyoles, ES | 7 |
| Tomioka, JP | 6 |
| ZSMlocation not on record | 6 |
| European Distributed Institute of Taxonomy (EDIT)location not on record | 6 |
| Metsähallituslocation not on record | 6 |
| Rovaniemi, FI | 5 |
| Iwate Prefectural Museumlocation not on record | 5 |
| South Kensington, GB | 5 |
| University of Guelph, Centre for Biodiversity Genomicslocation not on record | 5 |
| Shiojiri City Museum of Natural Historylocation not on record | 4 |
| Auckland, NZ | 4 |
| Zoological Museum of the University of Chittagong, Bangladeshlocation not on record | 4 |
| KSTRlocation not on record | 4 |
| Ugentlocation not on record | 4 |
| SOVTlocation not on record | 3 |
| Severin-McDaniel Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 3 |
| Tiroler Landesmuseum Ferdinandeumlocation not on record | 3 |
| Chicago, US | 3 |
| NMBU:MINAlocation not on record | 3 |
| Denver, US | 3 |
| Winterthur, CH | 2 |
| San Francisco, US | 2 |
| US | 2 |
| Gifu prefectural Museumlocation not on record | 2 |
| US | 1 |
| Brussels, BE | 1 |
| Natural History Museum, Londonlocation not on record | 1 |
| SBPlocation not on record | 1 |
| Bavarian State Collection of Zoologylocation not on record | 1 |
| OSUClocation not on record | 1 |
| Stockholm, SE | 1 |
| Washington, US | 1 |
| KWPlocation not on record | 1 |
| Cornell University Insect Collectionlocation not on record | 1 |
| München, DE | 1 |
| Naturmuseum Oltenlocation not on record | 1 |
Cultivated / Captivenot free-living
A living individual in a botanical garden, zoo or nursery — cultivated or kept, not free-living.
Where the DNA of Arctia caja was picked up in samples of water, soil or air — nobody saw the organism, only its DNA left behind. A trace is a clue that the species was near, not a confirmed sighting.
Signal
Where its DNA was found
How strong is each trace?
Modelled climatemodelled
How to read this: each dot is one detection of this species' DNA in an environmental sample. The confidence meter weighs how many independent studies and places back up the signal — one detection in one study is a hint; many across several studies is solid. Records dated before 2008 (when eDNA methods began) are treated as likely mislabeled and left off the map.