Once more I'm Outdoors for my letter O and if you are not Over-joyed at seeing a moth I hope you'll be Open-minded because I'm Obsessed about them.
Oak Eggar Lasiocampa quercus
The Oak Eggar is one of the UK's larger resident moths with a wingspan of 58 to 85mm. The darker, smaller male flies by day in sunshine and the paler female at night, sometimes coming to light as did the one above.
The Oak Eggar is single-brooded, flying in woods, hedgerows, dunes, downs, commons, and sea cliffs. The normal flight period in lowland southern Britain is July to August, and in the north from late May to early July. It is found only in Europe and the British Isles but is locally widespread throughout S England and as far North as Durham and Lancashire.
The Oak Eggar is single-brooded, flying in woods, hedgerows, dunes, downs, commons, and sea cliffs. The normal flight period in lowland southern Britain is July to August, and in the north from late May to early July. It is found only in Europe and the British Isles but is locally widespread throughout S England and as far North as Durham and Lancashire.
The Oak Eggar, despite its name, does not feed on Oak, but is so-called because the shape of its cocoon is acorn-like. The hairs of the caterpillar can cause a violent itching skin allergy in some people. The Oak Eggar overwinters as a larva which feeds from September to June on heather (Calluna) and bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus), but also include bramble (Rubus), Sallows (Salix), broom (Cytisus scoparius), sloe (Prunus spinosa), hawthorn (Crataegus), hazel (Corylus) and Sea-buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides).
The Oak Eggar got a mention in Charles Darwin's 'The Descent of Man' when he commented “The British moths which differ sexually in colour are all brown, or of various dull yellow tints, or nearly white. In several species the males are much darken then the females. I observe in my son's cabinet that the males are darker than the females in Lasiocampa quercus...”
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