Species Details

ABH: 69.008

BF: 1982

Family: Sphingidae

Subfamily: Macroglossinae

Taxon: Hemaris tityus

Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758)

Vernacular: Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth

Account: A species of unimproved grassland, damp acidic pasture and lightly grazed calcareous grassland, acidic bogs and heath in south-western England, with scattered colonies in northern England, Wales and western Scotland. Considered extinct in Surrey with the last record during 1953; however, there are recent records from SW London where it has not been previously recorded in an an area known for unofficial releases of extinct and other iconic Lepidoptera. Therefore, there is reasonable doubt with respect to the provenance of these records.

Accounts provided by and used with the kind permission of Mike Wall, Hampshire County Moth Recorder. These will in due course be gradually replaced with species accounts with a Surrey context.

Wingspan: 41 — 46 mm

Surrey Flight Period: 13 May (1950) — 20 Jun (1944)

The flight period of overwintering adults are not given. See the flight chart below the distribution map.

Foodplant: Knautia arvensis (Field Scabious), Succisa pratensis (Devil's-bit Scabious).

Foodplant accounts are from the HOSTS database — Natural History Museum, London, UK. (CC0).

Status: Least Concern (LC)

UK BAP: BAP

WCA:

Click here to view the full geology map of Surrey.

Verification Grade: 2 — Care needed to identify, an image may be required 🤔
Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/hemaris-tityus/
Statistics

* Based on adult records only.

Records: 17

Individuals: 7

Earliest Year: 1859

Latest Year: 1953

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