2026       Orgyia antiqua (Linnaeus, 1758) VAPOURER

Generally distributed in Britain, becoming less common in northern districts, the larva feeding on a wide range of deciduous trees and shrubs. The wingless female remains close to its empty cocoon. “Generally and evenly distributed in Dorset. Occasionally on tamarisk, roses, and fruit trees, it rises to being a minor pest. The male is a frequent sight on the wing on sunny autumn days.” (W Parkinson Curtis ms). In addition to this, the moth also flies at night and has been found in light traps on more than hundred occasions in recent years. The species is usually single-brooded in August and September in the UK, however, an additional bivoltine cycle may explain the protracted flight period of four months between 25 June and 27 October.

2027       Dicallomera fascelina (Linnaeus, 1758) DARK TUSSOCK

A local species in Britain, restricted to heathland, moorland, and coastal habitat, the larva feeding on heather (Calluna vulgaris and Erica spp.), broom (Cytisus scoparius), gorse (Ulex spp.), sallow (Salix spp.) and many other plants. In Dorset, the moth is confined to dry heathland where it is frequent very locally. Apart for a single record of an example trapped on Portland on 10 July 2005 in a light offshore north-easterly airflow, there are no records of the moth well away from heathland. The moth has been trapped on Brownsea Island where there are fragments of dry heather clad areas. “The adult is easily overlooked as it sits cryptically on stout heather stems which make it difficult to spot (W Parkinson Curtis ms)"

2028       Calliteara pudibunda (Linnaeus, 1758) PALE TUSSOCK

A widespread species in England and Wales, the larva feeding on various deciduous trees. In Dorset, the moth is most common in deciduous woods, parkland and tree-lined streets, but becomes infrequent in tree-less habitat, such as on Portland.

2029       Euproctis chrysorrhoea (Linnaeus, 1758) BROWN-TAIL

A mainly coastal species in southern and eastern England, the larva feeding on blackthorn (Prunus spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), bramble (Rubus fruticosus) and various other deciduous trees and shrubs. The species is notorious for its ability to accumulate plague-sized populations of larvae that destroy large quantities of foliage and to cause rashes on skin when handled. In extreme situations, local councils are obliged to implement pest control measures. The moth is a serious pest in orchards in North America following accidental introduction there. In Dorset, the moth is headquartered along the coast, especially where blackthorn (Prunus spinosa) thickets abound and significant defoliation in the immediate vicinity of the web sometimes creates a scrub canopy devoid of any leaves, for example almost annually to the west of Anvil Point at Durlston. Observations from inland localities suggest either occasional dispersal from the coast or transient colonisation, for example: in excess of one hundred nests along a two-hundred metre stretch of blackthorn and hawthorn hedgerow along the A31 main road at Bloxworth Down in late spring in each year between 2005 and 2008. The species rarely reaches pest status in the county.

2030       Euproctis similis (Fuessly, 1775) YELLOW-TAIL

A species occurring throughout England and Wales, becoming scarcer in Scotland, the larva feeding on blackthorn (Prunus spp.), hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), oak (Rubus fruticosus), sallow (Salix spp.) and other deciduous trees and shrubs. Like the Brown-tail₂₀₂₉, the hairs of the larva can inflict a rash on unprotected skin when handled. In Dorset, the moth is widespread and usually common, and rises to abundant in deciduous woodland, or where hawthorn and blackthorn grow in thickets. The national norm is for a single brood in July and August, however, occasional second brood moths emerge during Septembers and Octobers that follow warmer than average summers, for example, 1976, 1995, 2003 and 2006. 

2031       Leucoma salicis (Linnaeus, 1758) WHITE SATIN

A local and decreasing species in England, most frequent in south-east districts and abundant in London, the larva feeding on sallow and willow (Salix spp.), and poplar (Populus spp.). The moth occasionally reaches pest proportions in North America where, like the Brown-tail₂₀₂₉, it was accidentally introduced. In Dorset, the moth appears to be resident in one locality only, at Hurn on the Moors River where it is trapped every year close to a grove of mature black poplar (Populus nigra) trees. Records from about one hundred years ago indicate that the species was frequent in some years in the Stour and Avon river valleys, with larvae abundant in 1901 and 1912. A colony was also detected in the middle of Swanage on 2 July 1906: “forty-two larvae of varying sizes were collected from the leaves of a western balsam poplar (Populus trichocarpa); hundreds more lay out of reach higher up in the tree” (Reverend E Bankes). All other records, roughly half of the Dorset total, refer either to dispersed examples from outside the county, or to immigrants from northern France or the Low Countries. The species occurs throughout mainland Europe.

2033       Lymantria monacha (Linnaeus, 1758) BLACK ARCHES

A species restricted to southern England, the larva feeding on oak (Quercus spp.). In Dorset, the moth is common in oak woods, but scarce otherwise. The national norm is for adults to be on the wing in late July and August; it is likely that the following are second brood individuals: Arne Wood, on 10 October 1985 (B Pickess), Hurn, on 24 September 1998 (M Jeffes). Dispersal from outside the county or immigration from abroad may account for the following light trap records during 2004: Walditch, on 7 August (M Parsons), West Bexington, on 25 July (R Eden), Preston, on 27 July, 28 July (R Lambert).

2034       Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus, 1758) GYPSY

An extinct resident species colonising the fens in eastern England before 1907, and an occasional immigrant. The larva in fenland populations fed on bog-myrtle (Myrica gale) and creeping willow (Salix repens); however, the species is polyphagous on deciduous trees on the Continent, moreover, it is a pest species in orchards and forests across mainland Europe and in North America where it inflicts enormous damage. Although the female is apparently a reluctant flyer and therefore colonisation of new territory is in theory a slow process, wind-borne dispersal over significant distances has been observed for very small larvae. In Dorset, the species has been encountered on five occasions recently and all but one was recorded within a kilometer of the coast. Apart from the most recent observation of a resident colony, all dated records coincided with airflows from the continent; the second individual of 1976 is difficult to explain if the sedentary reputation of the female Gypsy is correct. Similarly, the present colony in south-east Dorset is also difficult to explain, apart that is through human introduction: Arne Wood, male at MV light on 7 August 1976 (B Pickess), Bournemouth, female at rest on tree in pier gardens on 18 August 1976 (P Fleet per L Siggs), Durlston, male at MV light on 5 August 2003 (J McGill), Highcliffe, male at MV light on 29 August 1985 (E Wild), south-east Dorset, hundreds of larvae on scrubby oak in May 2007, further larvae found in 2008, although colony size reduced by collectors.

There are several historical records too: Lilliput, circa 1895 (C Lawton), Cranborne, larva beaten and adult bred (F Fisher). “These two records are exceedingly puzzling. Fisher beat the larva out at Cranborne. Introduction seems out of the question, but why only one larva, seeing the rather gregarious habit of the insect, and the poor flying quality of the female. Neither I nor Fisher could get another larva, and we both did a lot of beating in the neighbourhood. The Poole capture is too circumstantial. I know the captor well, and I know he caught the specimen. It was in rather poor order, and distinctly yellower than those I have been accustomed to get in the south of France. Bankes, after hearing the whole story, accepted the insect as an authentic wild caught specimen. Neither he nor I could hazard a likely explanation of its presence.