Paul writes: I found this moth in my garden last week. I had run a moth trap overnight and next morning found this one nearby. It must have been attracted to the light and then settled down to rest up for the day. It’s a stunning moth and instantly recognisable with the black spots on its furry white thorax and the translucent spotted wings. The adult moth is incapable of feeding and has a short flight period, from late June to early August. In contrast the time from egg laying to the adult emerging is two to three years. The eggs are laid on the bark of a wide range of deciduous trees and shrubs, where the larvae feed in stems and branches of the tree and finally pupate under the bark.
The Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina) is fairly common and widespread in southern England and parts of Wales. Its northern limit is Yorkshire, so this record in Hunmanby, North Yorkshire is on the edge of its range.
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Beautiful moths. I never find them in the light trap but always resting nearby, where they spend the remainder of the day. For such an obvious creature, it makes no effort to blend in to its surroundings and yet the local passerines pay no attention to it.