What Insects might you find in a hedge?

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Insects

MOTHS

There are 538 different Irish moths. They belong to the new classification of the Lepidoptera where butterflies also belong. Death’s head hawk-moth Ii comes here as a migrant for the summer. It had a very thick body and is 0 cm wide with outstretched wings. It is a greyish brown colour on the forewings, the hindwings are yellow with two greyish-black band.

MOTH BRIMSTONE Opisthograptis luteolata


Brimstone moth (only found on Buckthorn hedges)

MOTH CHINESE-CHARACTER Cilix glaucata

Found in May, June and late July and August. It sits openly on a leaf but if disturbed, drops to the ground as if dead. The white forewings have a grey-brownish saddle-shaped mark. It has silvery scales on the veins. It is 20 mm wide when outstretched.

MOTH-HAWK

Death’s head hawk-moth Ii comes here as a migrant for the summer. It had a very thick body and is 0 cm wide with outstretched wings. It is a greyish brown colour on the forewings, the hindwings are yellow with two greyish-black band. It has a skull and crossbones pattern on the thorax.the caterpillar (larva) is a greenish brownish colour with white or lilac tubedrcles(rough ridges) and seven angled stripes.


hawk-moth Death's head(rare)

It is moderately common, especially in boggy aeas where it feeds on willow, sallow, apple and crab, sometimes poplar and privet. The eggs are laid on a leaf, usually two of them. The caterpillar is greenish, covered with white ridges and with seven whitish stripes at an angle on its sides which are edged with green at the front.


hawk-moth Eyed (rare)

A finely marked, lemon-yellow moth found throughout Ireland. It is about 30mm with its wing-span, with rusty-red blotches along the front margins of the fore-wings and there is a small-ring-like mark in the centre of the front margin. The caterpillar resembles a twig, with bud-like projections on segments six and eight. It feeds mainly on hawthorn but also on sloes in blackthorn.


hawk-moth Swallow-tailed(rare)

MOTH-POPLAR HAWK Laothoe populi

A large moth which is common here. Its foodplants are poplar-Populus serotina, aspen,Populus tremula, willow and sallwo. The forewings and outer part of the hindwings are grey and brown and under the hindwings there is a brick-red spot. The eggs are big shiny green pearls, laid in May singly on leaves. When adult, the caterpillar is green wiyth yellowish ridges.. The seven angled stripes are yellow and its horn is green,tipped woth a reddish colour. There are usually two broods in the year.

MOTH-POPULAR LUTESTRING Tethea or subspecies Hibernica

It is found during June and July. It has pearly-grey forewings tinged with pink near the base, with a dark band with a jagged outline made of four black lines, the lutestrings. It measures about 35mm with outstretched wings. It is found where ther is aspen, in Donegal, Fermanagh, Sligo, Cavan, Mayo, Galway, Wicklow and Kerry.

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