''Lasiocampa quercus'', the oak eggar, is a common

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

of the family

Lasiocampidae The Lasiocampidae are a family of moths also known as eggars, tent caterpillars, snout moths (although this also refers to the Pyralidae), or lappet moths. Over 2,000 species occur worldwide, and probably not all have been named or studied. It i ...

found in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, including Britain and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It feeds on a variety of plant species (mainly heather and

bilberry Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillus ...

), and may develop over two years in higher latitudes, where it may be known as the northern eggar. Its

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably '' ...

'' refers to the fact that its cocoon generally resembles an

acorn The acorn, or oaknut, is the nut of the oaks and their close relatives (genera ''Quercus'' and '' Lithocarpus'', in the family Fagaceae). It usually contains one seed (occasionally two seeds), enclosed in a tough, leathery shell, and borne ...

, not that its primary food source is oak.

Habitat

The oak eggar's habitat is wide-ranging, including scrub, heath, moor, downland, hedges and sea cliffs, reflecting the larva's very varied range of food plants.

Lifecycle

Adult

The moth's

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is about 45 mm (male) to 75 mm (female), the female being larger and paler than the male. It is Britain's largest day-flying moth. The oak eggar is on the wing for about two months between May and September, depending on the latitude. In more northerly latitudes, development can span two years, with larvae overwintering the first year, and the pupae in the second year. In northern areas it is known as the northern eggar; this was formerly thought to be a separate species, but is generally assumed to be a subspecies ''Lasiocampa quercus callunae'', there is no clear geographical separation of the two types, but the northern eggar tends to be the larger of the two. There are morphological differences and different food preferences. Males tend to be day fliers, while females tend to fly from dusk. Unpaired females may attract a large number of males, and eggs are laid loosely in undergrowth.

Larva

Larvae feed on a wide variety of plant species, low down, including blackthorn, hawthorn, viburnum, dogwood, ivy and ling, bilberry, broom, larch,

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' contains 30 ...

willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist s ...

, hazel, sea buckthorn and ''

Rubus ''Rubus'' is a large and diverse genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae, with over 1,350 species. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these ...

'' species, including bramble. It is not known to feed on oak; however, one entomologist (Brues, 1924) is quoted as saying: Larvae can be infected by a baculovirus, a virus that changes their behaviour, causing them to climb out of the protection of low scrub and leave them open to predation, facilitating the spread of the infection. The caterpillar hairs of some species of moth, such as the

oak processionary The oak processionary (''Thaumetopoea processionea'') is a moth whose caterpillars can be found in oak forests, where they feed on oak leaves, causing significant damage. They travel in nose-to-tail processions (hence their name), often arrow-h ...

moth (''Thaumetopoea processionea''), can cause skin irritation, but there is no evidence that the oak eggar is one of these, despite the similar name.

Pupa

The caterpillar pupates on the ground inside a silken cocoon, the exterior of which is hard and yellowish, and resembles an acorn, hence the moth's name. ''Eggar'' is an obsolete word relating to the shape of the cocoon. Lasiocampa_quercus_MHNT_CUT_2011_0_446_female_Mussidan.jpg, Female, dorsal left Lasiocampa quercus MHNT CUT 2011 0 446 Male Bassillac.jpg, Male, dorsal left

References

External links

Fauna EuropaeaLepiforum.de
(in German)
Vlindernet.nl
{{Taxonbar, from=Q261053 Lasiocampidae Moths described in 1758 Moths of Africa Moths of Europe Moths of Asia Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus