Garden Tiger Moth (Arctia caja)

The forewing pattern varies so much between individuals that no two are quite the same, which is unusual: warning colours normally work by being consistent and learnable. Underneath sit vivid orange hindwings, flashed suddenly when the moth is disturbed.

The threat is not a bluff. Its body fluids carry toxins taken up from the plants its caterpillars ate, so a predator that ignores the display finds the advertisement was accurate.

Those caterpillars are the woolly bears - dense brown hair, an appetite for almost any wild or garden plant, and a habit of crossing paths in autumn on the way to a hibernation site. They overwinter as larvae, pupate in spring and emerge in midsummer. The species is widespread across the temperate Palearctic and into North America, though numbers have fallen sharply in warmer lowland regions in recent decades.

A vector illustration of the garden tiger moth in dorsal view, drawn for the Bugs series of insect art prints.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 70 × 50 cm · 28 × 20 in

XLarge · 100 × 70 cm · 40 × 28 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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