A bee or not a bee? That was the question
MOTHS are fascinating creatures to get to grips with for anyone interested in nature – far more diverse and colourful than many might imagine.
And among the hundreds of larger varieties found in the UK, the hawkmoths have a special appeal for those interested in our resident and migrant species.
They tend to be large, for a start, neatly patterned, with a torpedoshaped body, and some are capable of flying great distances, migrating from as far away as Africa to our shores.
Hefty hawk-moths include the privet hawk-moth – a very broadwinged and impressive species which can be found in gardens – and the rare death’s head hawk-moth, which has a sinister skull-like marking on its thorax and is featured on the poster for the film Silence of the Lambs.
Day-flying species include the hummingbird hawk-moth, which can be spotted in summer buzzing from flower to flower like a small hummingbird, and two much scarcer so-called ‘bee’ hawk-moths, which, as the name suggests, resemble bees.
I was fortunate to come across one of these on a sunny day this month on eastern Dartmoor: the rare narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth, which has only scattered populations in Britain including, in particular, parts of Scotland and the South West. It is a specialist of damp pasture and downland, where its caterpillars feed on scabious.
When it first flew past me, I realised that it wasn’t a bumblebee, although very similar. It was lighter, for a start, and a band across its middle was visible as it neared. It also didn’t make a droning buzz.
Eventually it settled on a bluebell to feed, and I managed to get a closer view and a photo (right). A special sight, given this handsome moth is not something one comes across often, even in good habitat.
With so many kinds of UK moths on the wing by day and night, there are always surprises in store.