Moth Of The Week

Moth of the Week

Drinker

Euthrix potatoria

The drinker moth is of the family Lasiocampidae. It was described and named in 1758 by Carl Linneaus. Linneaus chose the species name potatoria as it means ‘drinker-like.’ Dutch entomologist Johannes Goedaert had previously called the moth dronckaerdt, meaning ‘drunkard,’ “because it is very much inclined to drinking” or because this moth repeatedly puts its head into water. The common name ‘drinker’ comes from the same reason.

Description This moth is distinguishable from other eggar moths by a diagonal line crossing the forewing and two white spots also on the forewing. Males are usually reddish or orangish-brown with yellow patches. Males in East Anglia are often yellowish. Females can be yellow, a pale buff, whitish, or a darker reddish-brown than the males. Male and females also differ in size and antennae shape: females are slight larger than males, and males have fluffier antennae.

Wingspan Range of Fully Grown Drinker: 45–65 mm (≈1.77 - 2.56 in)

Diet and Habitat The caterpillars of this species feed on grasses and reeds in genuses such as Alopecurus, Deschampsia, Dactylis, Elytrigia, Carex, Luzula, and other Gramineae. A few examples are Cat grass (Dactylis glomeratus), Common Reed (Phragmites australis), Reed Canary-grass (Phalaris arundinacea), and Wood Small-reed (Calamagrostis epigejos).

In the spring, they feed mainly at night and can be found resting on low vegetation during the day. The larva also supposedly drink morning dew because it had been observed to repeatedly put its head in water.

This moth can be found in Europe. It is common throughout England and Ireland but tends to favor western Scotland over eastern Scotland. It prefers habitats of marshy places such as fens, riversides, tall and damp grassland, marshes, damp open woodland, scrub, and ditches. However this species does sometimes live in drier habitats such as grassy terrain and urban gardens.

Mating Adults can been seen between July and August and presumably mate during this time. There is only one generation per year. Eggs are laid mainly on the stems of grasses or reeds in small clusters.

Predators Adult moths fly at night and are presumably preyed on by nocturnal predators such as bats.

Fun Fact Both sexes of the drinker moth are attracted to light, but males are especially susceptible.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation)

Moth of the Week

Hornet Moth

Sesia apiformis

The hornet moth is a part of the family Sesiidae or the family of clearwing moths. They get their common name predictably from how they mimic the appearance of the hornet. This type of mimicry is called Batesian mimicry, which is when a harmless species mimics the appearance of a unpalatable or defended species to protect themselves from predators. It was first described in 1759 by Carl Alexander Clerck under the name Sphinx apiformis.

Description This moth uses what called Batesian mimicry to resemble the hornet so predators do not want to eat it for fear of being stung. The adult moths have clear wings with yellow and striped black bodies. The number of stripes varies, females have two stripes while males have three. They are about the size of a hornet with the same jerky flight pattern when disturbed. The only difference is the hornet moth has more yellow and lacks the waist between the abdomen and the thorax.

Wingspan Range: 34 - 50 mm (≈1.34 - 1.97 in)

Females are larger than males

Diet and Habitat The larvae eat several species of poplar trees such as apsen (Populus tremula), black poplar (Populus nigra), and goat willow (Salix caprea). They prefer trees surrounded by heavy vegetation as those kinds show more evidence of infestation from larvae burrowing into trees. Adults do not eat.

This moth ranges over mainland Europe, Great Britain, and parts of the Middle East. It had also been introduced to America and Canada. They prefer open habitats such as parks, hedgerows, golf courses, quarries, fens, pond edges, and pits.

Mating The female moths attract males using special posterior glands to emit pheromones, usually soon after emergence. The male doesn’t seem to have any courtship behaviors as the two sexes are likely to begin mating as soon as they come into contact. Both males and females mate multiple times with different partners before the female beings laying her eggs.

Females prefer to lay eggs on old or isolated trees surrounded by vegetation. Females can lay from hundreds to thousands of eggs and exhibits no parental care. When comparing the number of eggs laid to the number of adults emerging per year, it is clear the large number of eggs laid is to make up for the large mortality rate between the egg and adult stages.

Predators This species of moth is primarily preyed on by magpies and great tits. Interestingly, these birds do not eat hornets despite eating this moth. An explanation for this is since these birds don’t eat hornets, the mimicry is less effective as they have any bad experiences with insects of this coloration. In fact, it can be suggested that the black and yellow coloration has the opposite effect: once the birds realize this moth is harmless and can be easily seen, they begin to actively seek them out.

Fun Fact The hornet moth is seen as a pest in the eastern United Kingdom due to a large dieback of poplar trees from larvae burrowing into them. However this dieback is not inherently caused by the larvae but instead from drought and human influences, which the larvae increase the effect of.

(Source: Wikipedia, Butterfly Conservation)

Moth of the Week

Latticed Heath

Chiasmia clathrata

The lattice heath is a part of the family Geometridae, first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. Linnaeus however described this moth under the name Phalaena clathrata. This was later changed by Eugen Wehril in 1949 to Semiothisa clathrata tschangkuensis. Then, Malcolm J. Scoble proved it was not in the genus Semiothisa as the Semiothisa species are found only in the Americas. Molecular work has confirmed the this species within the Chiasmia genus.

Description Both the forewings and hindwings are the same color, which can vary from yellow to white depending on the moth. The veins of the wings are traced out in brown and criss crossed by several larger uneven brown lines. This is where the species got its common name “latticed.” The lines vary in thickness to the point some moths’ wings a more almost entirely brown. Close to the edges of the wings are several small brown spots and a brown and white edge on what is called the “outer margin.”

The body and antennae are mottled to match the wings.

Wingspan Range: 20 - 25 mm (≈0.79 - 0.98 in)

Diet and Habitat The larvea of this moth eat hedge bedstraw, yellow bedstraw, clovers, trefoils, lucerne, meadow vetchling, and other legumes. Adult moths do not feed.

This moth is found through Europe and ranges south to the Near East and North Africa and east through Russia, Siberia, northern Iran, Kazakhstan, China, and Korea to Japan. It is very common in the British Isles. It prefers open area habitats such as grassland, moorland, and waste ground.

Mating This species has one to two generations per year in the British Isles. The pupa overwinter and Amadults emerge in May to September.

Predators This moth species is binaural, meaning they fly during the day. However, they are attached to artificial light and can be seen flying at night for these lights. Because of this it is presumable that they are preyed on by birds and bats, two common predators of moths.

Fun Fact This moth has 4 subspecies: Chiasmia clathrata clathrata (Linné), Chiasmia clathrata centralasiae (Krulikowski, 1911), Chiasmia clathrata djakonovi (Kardakoff, 1928), Chiasmia clathrata kurilata (Bryk, 1942).

(Source: Wikipedia)

Moth of the Week

African Wild Silk Moth

Gonometa postica

The African wild silk moth is a part of the family Lasiocampidae. It was first described in 1855 by Francis Walker. It is also known as the Brandwurm in its larval stage in Afrikaans, Kweena in its pupal stage in Tshwana, and Molopo moth/mot in English and Afrikaans.

Description The female of this moth is much longer and larger than the male due to having to carry eggs. The male is about half the size of the female and much thinner.

The female has a light brown abdomen with a dark brown thorax and head. The female’s forewings are striped light brown, dark brown, and gray. The hindwings are a yellow-brown with a dark brown edge.

The male has a dark body and wings with a transparent portion of the hindwing.

Female Forewing Range: 35–42 mm (

Male Forewing Range: 21–25 mm (

Diet and Habitat Larva of this species eat Acacia erioloba, A. tortilis, A. melifera, Burkea africana, Brachystegia spp., and Prosopis glandulosa. The larva will feed from the same tree it’s entire life unless there are two many other caterpillars. When there is a large number of caterpillars, they may defoliate the whole tree and the larva must move in order to not starve.

This moth mainly inhabits savannas with many Acacia trees, especially in drier areas. These moths contribute to the Acacia environment by providing food to predators and nutrients to plants through feces. Cocoons are usually found on Acacia tees.

Mating Males detect females’ mating pheromones with their antennae. Males fly to the females because the females are weighed down by the eggs. The female contains about 200 eggs which are laid on the food plant after fertilization. Eggs hatch in about two weeks. Eggs are laid in clumps and the newly hatched caterpillars grow as a group and become more solitary with time.

Predators This moth is preyed on by parasitic wasps and flies. These insects lay their eggs on the caterpillar and feed off of its resources until the moth larva cocoons. The parasites live off the cocoon and grow to adulthood while killing the pupa. Specifically, these larva are subject to parasitism by Diptera and Hymenoptera, the most common parasitoids being Palexorista species from the Tachinidae and Goryphus species from the Ichneumonidae.[6]

To combat external predators and weather, the caterpillars build a tough cocoon. Caterpillars and their cocoons are also covered in stinging hairs to deter predators from touching them. Female cocoons are larger than male cocoons.

Fun Fact In Madagascar, wild silk has been harvested for centuries, and this knowledge has been introduced to southern Africa. The cocoons are harvested commercially in Namibia, Botswana, Kenya and South Africa, and the species also occurs in Zimbabwe and Mozambique. They are difficult to harvest due to the cocoons being covered in calcium oxalate. Oxford University discovered and patented a method known as demineralizing using a warm solution of EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) that soften the cocoons by dissolving the sericin. This lets the silk unravel without weakening it.

- Wild African silk moth cocoons are also used as ankle rattles in southern Africa by San and Bantu tribes. They are filled with materials such as fine gravel, seeds, glass beads, broken sea shells, or pieces of ostrich eggshell.

- Furthermore, the cocoons have long been known to cause the death of cattle, antelope and other ruminants in the Kalahari. During drought periods, the cocoons are eaten, probably because they resemble acacia pods. The silk is indigestible and blocks the rumen of multiple-stomach animals, causing starvation.

- Finally, the protein found in this species’s slik contains many basic amino acids making it a potentially useful biomaterial in cell and tissue culture.

(Source: Wikipedia, SANBI)

psst hey you you ever heard of the polyphemus moth

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check em out

Psst, hey! I have actually heard of this moth before, in fact it was one of my first Moth of the Week posts. You can find the post here!

Check ‘em out! :]

Moth of the Week

Kentish Glory

Endromis versicolora

The Kentish glory was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus. It is a part of the family Endromidae which was created in 1810 by Ferdinand Ochsenheimer. This is a monotypic genus, meaning there is only one species in it being the Kentish glory.

Description The male and female of this species are clearly told apart by their colors and size.

Males are darker and more orange than females with feathery antennae

Males hindwings are orange

Females are paler/more washed out in color and larger to carry eggs

The forewings of this moth are a marbled black, orange, and white. The outer edge of the wing called the outer margin is brown with white stripes along the veins. The females hindwings are the same marbled black, brown, and white with a brown edge. The males hindwings are orange with brown markings.

The legs and antennae are black while the thorax is brown and white. The females abdomen is black while the males abdomen is a similar orange to the hindwing.

Sources differ on wingspan range.

Wikipedia: 50 - 70 mm (≈1.97 - 2.76 in)

Butterfly Conservation: Male 27 - 30 mm (≈1.06 - 1.18 in), Female 34 - 39 mm (≈1.34 - 1.54 in)

Diet and Habitat The larvae of this species eats mainly birch (Betula species) but will eat other trees and shrubs such as Alnus, Corylus, Tilia and Carpinus species. Adults do not feed.

This moth’s range used to be much larger, such as living in the southern and western English counties of Kent, Sussex, Berkshire, East Anglia, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire and the southeastern Welsh county of Monmouthsire.

Now this moth is restricted to living in the central and eastern Highlands of Scotland. It is seen in the Scottish counties of Perthshire, Inverness-shire, Morayshire, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire.

They prefer to inhabit open birch woodland and lightly wooded moorland.

Mating Females use pheromones to attract males, who can detect them from 1-2 km (≈0.62 - 1.24 mi) away.

This species has one single generation per year. The females lay their eggs, which are yellow at first then purplish-brown, in batches of 10-20 eggs on low birch scrub at an average height of 1.2m (≈1.31 yd). They prefer to let them on sheltered, unshaded saplings, usually the first few batches are near where the females emerged. The eggs hatch after 10 to 14 days.

Predators Males usually fly during the day from mid morning to early afternoon while females fly at dusk. Because of this males are presumably preyed on by daytime birds while females are preyed on by bats.

Fun Fact The females do not fly as strong as males due to the eggs they carry as it weighs them down. Females tend to lay their first few batches of eggs close to where they emerged due to this fact.

(Source: Butterfly Conservation, Wikipedia, Rothiemurchus)