Page 1 of 1

Poplar Hawkmoth

PostPosted: Mon 01 Aug 2016 20:18
by georgehogg
Found a fat female Poplar Hawkmoth at roost in the garden on Sunday.
Looked like an egg laden female.
Surprised to see it still in the exact same spot on Monday.
Are some moths known to return to the same roosting spots each morning or has it not flown during the night ?
I read the newly emerged adults only fly on their second night but this seems a mated female so not new.
Also wondered if it might be releasing scent to attract males,so staying still,but again it looks already mated.
Another possible reason I considered was that it had laid all it's eggs and was just waiting around to die.
Or maybe Poplar Hawkmoth is just a fairly inactive species ?
Photo on this link


Re: Poplar Hawkmoth

PostPosted: Tue 02 Aug 2016 07:39
by MarkCubitt
Roy Leverton has provided the following comments

It's an unusually late date - I've not seen one here for a fortnight. If newly emerged (and therefore very fresh) she may have failed to attract a male on the first night, so not flown because she is unmated. Her only reason to fly would be to lay eggs, since this species does not feed or migrate. Mated pairs usually stay together all the next day. If on the other hand she has mated, the weather on the night may have been in some way unsuitable - temperature, wind direction, barometric pressure. We don'y really know why some nights are good for moths (judging by catches) but others are poor.

Re: Poplar Hawkmoth

PostPosted: Tue 02 Aug 2016 18:57
by georgehogg
Many Thanks,She is still there now ..Tues pm.
Hope to keep an eye on her.
While she roosted through Monday night I was in the garden checking for nectaring moths and found plenty,so weather is probably not an issue.
Am I right in thinking she looks egg laden or is that size normal for female Poplar Hawks ?