Sphingidae : Macroglossinae
Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth
HEMARIS fuciformis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth
HEMARIS fuciformis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Life Cycle Guide
Description
Wingspan: 40-47mm
Worldwide Distribution: S.Palearctic : Japan
UK Distribution: Resident : Nationally Scarce-found in the southern half of England and Wales : East Anglia : Lincolnshire : scattered records in West Midlands,north to Yorkshire.
UK Conservation Status -
Habitat: Open Woodland : Woodland rides : Heathland
Similar Species -
Larva: Late June-August : Larva occasionally found on cultivated Honeysuckle in gardens.The larva is usually green with white dots and two whiteish-yellow lateral lines on the top of the larva,the underneath can be brown and they have a brown tail-horn.The spiracles or breathing holes are usually highlighted with ruddy brown small rings.
Pupa: Pupates just below ground
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: The Broad-bordered Hawk-moth is often confused with its cousin the Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth but as the name suggests the wing borders are wider and the transparent cell near the wing base is split in two with a red vein running parallel with the leading edge of the forewing. The dark central cross vein is also thicker.
The band on the abdomen of H.fuciformis is also usually reddish brown whereas with tityus it is black (see photo below).
This beautiful moth has declined nationally, especially in recent years, when they were recorded regularly at Martin Down in the Hampshire/Dorset border and in Botany Bay in Surrey,something that seems to have reduced significantly.
The possible reason for this changes in woodland management with the decline of coppicing and the maturity of conifer plantations, restricting habitat requirement.
Stronghold for this moth in Hampshire is found in the New Forest.
The Broad-bordered Hawk-moth is a day flyer where it can be found nectaring in flight on flowers such as Bugle (See photos below) Honeysuckle, Ragged-Robin, Viper's Bugloss , Yellow Rattle, Rhododendron and Aubretia.
Wingspan: 40-47mm
Worldwide Distribution: S.Palearctic : Japan
UK Distribution: Resident : Nationally Scarce-found in the southern half of England and Wales : East Anglia : Lincolnshire : scattered records in West Midlands,north to Yorkshire.
UK Conservation Status -
- Nationally Scarce ( Nb-1980/93 ) = 101 - 300 10Km Squares
- Least Concern
- Sphinx fuciformis Linnaeus, 1758
- Sphinx fuciformis Linnaeus, 1758
- Europe
Habitat: Open Woodland : Woodland rides : Heathland
Similar Species -
- Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Hemaris tityus Linnaeus, 1758
Larva: Late June-August : Larva occasionally found on cultivated Honeysuckle in gardens.The larva is usually green with white dots and two whiteish-yellow lateral lines on the top of the larva,the underneath can be brown and they have a brown tail-horn.The spiracles or breathing holes are usually highlighted with ruddy brown small rings.
Pupa: Pupates just below ground
Overwinters as: Pupa
Observations: The Broad-bordered Hawk-moth is often confused with its cousin the Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth but as the name suggests the wing borders are wider and the transparent cell near the wing base is split in two with a red vein running parallel with the leading edge of the forewing. The dark central cross vein is also thicker.
The band on the abdomen of H.fuciformis is also usually reddish brown whereas with tityus it is black (see photo below).
This beautiful moth has declined nationally, especially in recent years, when they were recorded regularly at Martin Down in the Hampshire/Dorset border and in Botany Bay in Surrey,something that seems to have reduced significantly.
The possible reason for this changes in woodland management with the decline of coppicing and the maturity of conifer plantations, restricting habitat requirement.
Stronghold for this moth in Hampshire is found in the New Forest.
The Broad-bordered Hawk-moth is a day flyer where it can be found nectaring in flight on flowers such as Bugle (See photos below) Honeysuckle, Ragged-Robin, Viper's Bugloss , Yellow Rattle, Rhododendron and Aubretia.
Photo Gallery
Ova
Having seen the ova deposited below on low growing Honeysuckle in a clearing in Pamber Forest in Hampshire I was mesmerized by the way the female selected the individual leaf and whilst in flight approached the leaf and arched her abdomen upwards to deposit the ova close to the leaf apex.
Although she performed this action about six times during her visit I was only able to find two ovum a couple of days later due to the speed of Honeysuckle growth.
The time taken to deposit all these ovum was approximately under a minute.
The ova is opaque when first deposited and the dark ova in the photo was taken twelve days later.
I was unable to see the larva emerge, much to my disappointment.
Larval Food Plants Worldwide
Note - Plants hyperlinked in red below take the visitor to the relevant plant page on"Plants for a Future" website where further information like photos,physical characteristics,habitats,edible uses,medicinal uses,cultivation,propagation,range,height etc. are clearly listed.
- Plant Families - in bold red below takes the visitor to the relevant "Lepi-plants" page where other butterflies & moths using the plants below are listed.
- Caprifoliaceae - Honeysuckle Family
- Lonicera alpigena - Alpine Honeysuckle
- Lonicera caerulea - Blue-berried Honeysuckle
- Lonicera canadensis - Fly Honeysuckle
- Lonicera caprifolium - Italian Honeysuckle
- Lonicera xylosteum - Twinberry-Dwarf Honeysuckle
- Lonicera nigra - Black Honeysuckle
- Lonicera periclymenum - English Wild Honeysuckle
- Lonicera tatarica - Tartarian Honeysuckle
- Symphoricarpos albus laevigatus - Snowberry
- Dipsacaceae - Teasel Family
- Knautia arvensis - Field Scabious
- Note - Larvae also feed on the following plant family
- Rubiaceae - Galium - Bedstraws
- Knautia arvensis - Field Scabious
Larval Food Plants
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Taxonomy
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Kingdom:
Subkingdom: Phylum: Subphylum: Class: Order: Superfamily: Family: Subfamily: Tribe: Subtribe: Genus: Accepted Species Name: Type Species - HEMARIS: Original Species Name: Species Names: Genus Names: Literary Ref: Type Locality: Forms/Aberrations: |
Animalia
Eumetozoa Arthropoda Hexapoda Insecta Lepidoptera Bombycoidea Sphingidae Macroglossinae Dilophonotini Hemarina HEMARIS Dalman, 1816 Hemaris fuciformis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Sphinx fuciformis (Linnaeus, 1758) - SPHINX fuciformis (Linnaeus, 1758) = Sphinx variegata Allioni, 1766 = bombyliformis sensu Ochsenheimer, 1808 = Macroglossa milesiformis Treitschke, 1834 = Macroglossa lonicerae Zeller, 1869 = Macroglossa caprifolii Zeller, 1869 = Macroglossa robusta Alphéraky, 1882 = Hemaris simillima Moore, 1888 = heynei Bartel, 1898 = circularis Stephan, 1924 = Haemorrhagia fuciformis jordani Clark, 1927 = musculus Wagner, 1919 = rebeli Anger, 1919 = minor Lambillion, 1920 = obseleta Lambillion, 1920 = jakutana Derzhavets, 1984. - HEMARIS Dalman 1816 = Chamaesesia Grote 1873 = Cochrania Tutt 1902 = Haemorrhagia Grote & Robinson 1865 = Jilinga Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt 1998 = Mandarina Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt 1998 = Saundersia Eitschberger, Danner & Surholt 1998 = Aege R. Felder 1874 - Syst. Nat. (Edn 10) 1 : Title page : p.493 - n.28 - Europe - H.f.f.heynei Bartel, 1898-Abdomen red-brown segment can be black H.f.f.milesiformis Treitschke,1834-Marginal border dentate/tooth like. |