Species Account

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Distribution

Summary Data

Season (Adult / Immature):

National Status: Common

Local Status: Scarce and thinly distributed or restricted resident.

Local Record: Grade 1 See here for explanation

Flight time: One generation, Jul-Aug.

Forewing: M 25-34mm. F 33-40mm.

Foodplant: Heathers, Bilberry, Bramble other woody plants.

Regional breakdown:

	VC61	VC62	VC63	VC64	VC65
Year first recorded	1928	1930	1873	1804	1880
Year last recorded	2014	2014	2014	2014	2013
Number of records	339	149	146	210	50
Number of individuals	389	132	430	283	125
Unique positions	39	105	100	131	36
Unique locations	42	85	87	112	36
Adult records	330	74	63	126	21
Immature records	7	60	65	74	22

For the county, we have a total of 894 records from 362 sites. First recorded in 1804.

Photos

Species Account

Sutton & Beaumont, 1989: There are two subspecies of this moth, ssp. callunae (Palmer), the Northern Eggar and ssp. quercus (Linnaeus), the Oak Eggar. The main difference are in habitat preferences and phenology, callunae has a two year life-cycle whilst quercus completes its growth in a single year. In Derbyshire Harrison and Sterling (1986) comment that in callunae (the most frequent of the two) the adult insects are only found in odd-numbered years. In Yorkshire this seems to be the case in the west (see Kettlewell, 1973 for example), however in the North York Moors adult insects are recorded in both odd and even years, although there have been no indications of numbers involved so it may be that the majority are synchronised in odd-number years. Yorkshire records which distinguish between the two suggest that quercus is only found in the south-east of the County (Spurn Point, VC61, and possibly Hatfield Moor, VC62). Callunae is common on high moors and lowland mosses throughout vice-counties 61-64, although not recorded from VC65 there seems to be no reason why it should not be present.

2012 (CHF): Both subspecies seem to be doing well in upland and lowland areas.

See background to species accounts. Index of Vernacular names - Search - Random Species

Yorkshire Moths
A guide to the moths of VC61-65