Nature’s Top 40: Britain’s Best Wildlife. Chris Packham

Many moths have been given wonderful common names as well, such as mother shipton, peach blossom or brindled beauty, which certainly adds to the fun of moth identification. Of all the wonderfully different 17 families of macros in Britain, though, without question the most spectacular group regularly encountered in moth traps are the hawkmoths.

      The hawkmoths comprise about 850 known species worldwide and are most heavily represented in the tropics. The family includes such well-known species as: the infamous death’s-head hawkmoth that was immortalised in the film Silence of the Lambs; the day-flying hummingbird hawkmoth; as well as the long-tongued Darwin’s hawkmoth, which was predicted to exist by the great man after Darwin found an orchid that could only be pollinated by a proboscis of over 20 centimetres in length! The hawkmoths are moderate to large in size, with a wingspan of between 30 and 125 millimetres, and are characterised by their rapid flight, long, narrow hawklike wings and a streamlined abdomen, all clearly adaptations for quick and sustained flying. In addition to some species being able to hover, the hawkmoths are thought to be some of the world’s fastest flying insects, capable of travelling at 30 mph.

      The larvae of hawkmoths are also larger than the vast majority of the other moth larvae, and can reach 80 to 120 millimetres long, with a surprisingly thick body and a horn clearly present on the eleventh segment, close to their rear end. The family’s Latin name, Sphingidae, comes from the posture adopted by the caterpillars: when they are resting on a twig, they cling to the plant with their pro-legs and hind claspers, while the front halves of their body rear up with the head curved back towards the twig, resulting in the caterpillars’ profile resembling that of an Egyptian sphinx.

      The caterpillars have an incredible appetite and their weight before pupation may be ten thousand times that of when they initially hatched from their eggs; this means that, during their six-week larval stage, these ‘eating machines’ will have to moult at least three or four times. Although some hawkmoths are considerable pests to crops, such as the tobacco hornworm (hawkmoth) in the tobacco-growing areas of the USA, all of the British species confine their voracious appetites to a mostly abundant range of native plants.

       The elephant hawkmoth derives its name from the grey, trunklike caterpillar, not from the startling pink and olive livery of the adult moth.

      Laurie Campbell

       If disturbed, the eyed hawkmoth will flash ‘the eyes’ on its hind-wings to give the impression that it is much bigger and scarier than it really is!

      Robert Thompson

      Some of the caterpillars, such as the poplar and eyed hawkmoths, are well camouflaged against their respective food-plants, with disruptive patterns making them difficult to pick out. However, a number of other species that feed on low-growing plants, like the immigrant spurge and bedstraw hawkmoths, often have conspicuous colours, presumably to act as a warning to birds of their distasteful nature, while elephant hawkmoth larvae have eyespots to startle would-be predators. Those caterpillars that avoid being predated will then bury themselves underground to pupate in the soil over winter.

      In Britain there are nine breeding species, with a further eight that have migrated from continental Europe occasionally recorded at moth traps. The elephant hawkmoth is certainly one of those species that puts paid to the theory that all moths are brown, with its brazen pink and olive colouration. This small species is one of the most common hawkmoths in Britain and is widespread in England, Wales and southern Scotland. It is particularly common in urban areas, as its main food-plant is rosebay willowherb – that colourful coloniser of car parks, railway sidings and roadsides. The caterpillar is green or brown, speckled with grey, and has a pair of colourful eyespots on the fourth and fifth segments either side of the body, which become dilated when it is disturbed. The caterpillar’s body immediately behind the head is long and extendable and, when the caterpillar waves its head around while looking for the next meal, it has more than a passing resemblance to an elephant’s trunk, hence the name!

      The hawkmoth most likely to be found as far north as Scotland, and even reaching the Arctic circle, is the poplar hawkmoth. The favoured habitats for this moth are any woodland margins, parks and gardens where the caterpillar’s food-plants of poplar, aspen or willow can be found. The adult has quite broad forewings that are coloured delicate shades of grey, have heavily scalloped trailing edges and a distinctive rusty-red patch at their base. When this quite large moth is at rest, it is very noticeable that the leading edges of both smaller hindwings poke out in front of the forewings – the frenulum is absent in this species – and the tip of the abdomen also commonly curls upwards.

      Of course the holy grail of hawkmoth finds must be that of the death’s-head hawkmoth. The name of this most spectacular moth arises from the markings on its thorax, which bear a striking resemblance to that of a human skull and are complemented by the lateral stripes on the abdomen, which add a set of ribs to the image. This moth is the largest species regularly encountered in Britain and has been regarded in many countries as an omen of disaster, a myth possibly perpetuated by being the only known moth species to make an audible squeak when touched! The death’s-head is a native of Africa and migrates northwards into Europe each year, often reaching mostly southern Britain in small numbers by early autumn. The preferred food-plant of the caterpillar is the potato, but they will also help themselves to woody nightshade and jasmine. This is most certainly one species that any moth trapper would be delighted to hear going ‘bump in the night’!

35 Grey seals pupping

       The autumnal months of September to November are not usually considered the traditional or best time to spend a day down at the beach or on an island-hopping sojourn. But this is exactly the time to visit one of a few special coastal locations if you want to catch up with grey seals as they pup – a tremendous wildlife spectacle that is one of our best-kept secrets and of which Britain as an internationally important player should be justifiably proud.

       Seal pups

       WHEN

       From early September to November depending on the location, with southern and western sites pupping first

       WHERE

       Monach Isles, Outer Hebrides; Orkney Islands; Donna Nook, Lincolnshire

       A pup starts to moult into its adult coat in preparation for a chilly life at sea.

      The grey seal is only one of two species of seal that breed along the British coastline, the other being the common seal, which, ironically, is the rarer of the two in Britain’s waters. The wildlife novice can encounter difficulty in identifying these two superficially similar species, but it helps if you know that the grey seal’s wonderful Latin name Halichoerus grypus translates as ‘Hook-nosed sea-pig’! While hardly flattering, this translation goes some way to describing the looks of the greys: their elongated muzzle contrasts with the ‘snub-nosed’ appearance of the more diminutive common seals. Another vital distinguishing feature is the nostrils: in the grey seals the closed nostrils appear like parallel slits; in the common they are splayed to form a V shape.

      The size and shape of the grey seal differs between the sexes too. The adult males or bulls are much larger and heavier than the females, with a massive pair of shoulders where the skin over this region and the chest consists of heavily scarred folds and wrinkles. Bulls have a distinctive and convex snout, giving them a ‘Roman nose’ profile, while the females, or cows, look more slender and seal-like by comparison. Although ‘grey’ is a reasonably accurate colour rendition of most of the seals, there is much variation, with some bulls