Vapourer (Orgyia antiqua) | Species | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Male. Taken at Aston, Oxon., on August 13th 2023. (© David Hastings) (Canon R6+Sigma 180, f/11, 1/250th, ISO3200, 180mm)  Female. Taken at Aston, Oxon., on September 23rd 2025. (© David Hastings) (Canon R6+RF100, f/13, 1/250th, ISO800, 100mm) DescriptionFamily: Erebidae (ABH : 72.017) Wing span: 24 - 34mm The male Vapourer has rather plain orange-brown wings with indistinct darker cross-lines and a white spot at the trailing corners. The female has rudimentary wings and is flightless. It can be found in most of the British Isles, but is local in Ireland. Habitats range from from parks and gardens to moorland and other scrubby places. There is one protracted generation from July to October in the south, usually September to October in the north. The egg is the over-wintering stage. Larvae feed on most native broad-leaved trees and shrubs, including birches, Hazel, sallows, hawthorns, Blackthorn, and many cultivated bushes such as contoneasters and Pyracantha. The male flies by day with an irregular, fluttering flight, often quite high, searching for the female pheromone. The male occasionally comes to light. The female is sedentary. Earliest UK sighting: 13th July ; Latest UK sighting: 1st October Sightings
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