UKMoths Please note that the NBN Gateway map service has been terminated as of 1 April 2017.
As soon as a replacement map service is available, distribution maps will hopefully appear here again.
In the meantime, you can get some idea of distribution from the NBN Atlas website.
72.017 BF2026
The Vapourer Orgyia antiqua
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Wingspan 25-30 mm.
An unusual species in many ways, the males fly during the day but are often also attracted to light at night.
The females are virtually wingless, an attribute normally associated with winter-emerging species, but the adults are out from July to September, sometimes October in the south.
The female lays her eggs on what remains of the pupal cocoon, which then overwinter. When hatched, the very hairy caterpillars feed on a range of deciduous trees and shrubs.
The species is fairly common, especially in suburban habitats, over much of Britain, but more so in the south.
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