Thursday 7 July 2011

Teddy knows !

In the last post http://teddytourteas.blogspot.com/2011/07/snowden-carr-5-7-11.html I asked if anyone knew what this would become ?
well there's been no takers so Teddy told me
The Emperor Moth (Pavonia pavonia) is a moth of the family Saturniidae. It is sometimes placed in the genus Saturnia. It occurs throughout the Palearctic region and is the only member of its family to be found in the British Isles.
The male has a wingspan of about 60 mm with brown and white forewings marked with red and orange fascia and a bold black and orange eye-spot. The hindwings are orange with a similar eye-spot. The female is larger (wingspan about 80 mm) but less brightly coloured than the male, being generally grey and white but has all wings marked with eye-spots similar to the male.
The male flies rapidly during the day from mid-April to late June looking for the rather sluggish females, which usually only fly at night. The species inhabits a range of habitats but is most often associated with heathland and moorland.The caterpillar is black and orange at first, later becoming green with black rings and yellow and red spots. The commonest food plant is heather but the species has also been recorded feeding on a huge range of other plants (see list below). The species overwinters as a pupa within a fibrous cocoon.
Recorded food plants
Alchemilla Alnus – Alder, Arbutus – Strawberry Tree, Betula – Birch, Calluna – Heather, Cornus – Dogwood, Crataegus – Hawthorn, Erica Fagus – Beech, Filipendula – Meadowsweet, Fragaria – Strawberry, Fraxinus – Ash, Hippophae – Sea-buckthorn, Humulus – Hop, Juglans – Walnut, Lythrum – Purple loosestrife, Malus – Apple, Myrica galePistacia – Terebinth, Populus – Aspen, Potentilla Prunus Pyrus – Pear, Quercus – Oak, Rhamnus – Buckthorn, Rosa – Rose, Sambucus – Elder
http://britishwildlifeandnature.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page
Just thought I'd share - cheers all Danny

5 comments:

  1. Smarter than the average bear !

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  2. Smarter than your Tumble Weed !

    http://teddytourteas.blogspot.com/2011/06/above-blow-tarn.html

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  3. Its a very beautiful moth. How do you manage to get it's eyes to follow you around the room, though?

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  4. Oh - Teddy beat me to it! (See comment on previous post).

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