Moths & butterflies known to feed on greater knapweed (Centaurea scabiosa):

Species Status Match
Marsh fritillary
Euphydryas aurinia
Vulnerable this species
Satyr pug
Eupithecia satyrata
Vulnerable any Centaurea species
Grey pug
Eupithecia subfuscata
Near Threatened any Centaurea species
Scarce forester
Jordanita globulariae
Near Threatened this species
Treble lines
Charanyca trigrammica
LC any Centaurea species
Lime-speck pug
Eupithecia centaureata
LC any Centaurea species
Bordered straw
Heliothis peltigera
Not assessed any Centaurea species
Marbled clover
Heliothis viriplaca
LC any Centaurea species
Belted beauty
Lycia zonaria
LC any Centaurea species
Painted lady
Vanessa cardui
LC this species

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.