Cheshire
Macro-Moths - Privet Hawk-moth
The
Privet Hawk-moth - Sphinx ligustri Linnaeus
Imago / Adult:
The adult moth (imago) is a large moth, Britain's largest
resident species of hawk-moth, and varies between 100 and 120 millimetres
in wingspan. The ground colour is generally a variety of browns with
pink markings on both the front and hind wings. It is a resident moth
which is single-brooded and normally flies from the beginning of June
through to the end of July. The populations are occasionally topped
up by migrants. A widely distributed moth in the southern counties
but only locally common. It has been missing from Cheshire for many
years but recently reappeared, with a specimen being taken in the
late 1990s. This may have been a bred specimen which had been released
further records are required to prove its expansion and breeding back
in our area.
Larva:
The larvae is large, usually 70 to 85 mm in length.
The body is a bright apple green and has white oblique stripes which
are edged with bright purple down the sides. The larval horn is large,
curved and a shining jet black in colour.
Foodplant(s):
The known foodplants are: Privet (both wild and cultivated),
Ash and Lilac. The larva is usually to be found between the months
of July to August.
Overwintering:
The moth overwinters as a pupa (chrysalis) and in
the late autumn and early winter months is to be found by digging
around the roots of the foodplant trees, especially isolated trees/bushes
in southern counties.