Scarce Vapourer
Scarce Vapourer Orgyia recens
The Scarce Vapourer (Orgyia recens) is a nationally scarce moth of rough, scrubby grassland, heathland edge, and open woodland where its larvae feed on a range of woody and herbaceous plants, including broom, bramble, and various shrubs. The larvae are striking – densely tufted with colourful hair brushes – whilst the adult females are wingless, laying their eggs directly onto their own cocoon.
Four-spotted Moth
Four-spotted Moth Tyta luctuosa
The Four-spotted Moth (Tyta luctuosa) is a small, distinctive day-flying moth whose larvae feed on Field Bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis) on open, dry, sunny grassland and disturbed ground. It is a scarce and declining species in Britain, largely confined to a handful of areas with suitable conditions in southern and eastern England.
Olive Crescent
Olive Crescent Trisateles emortualis
The Olive Crescent (Trisateles emortualis) is a rare and local moth of ancient and semi-ancient oak woodland, its larvae feeding on withered oak leaves on the woodland floor, making it highly dependent on the presence of substantial lying deadwood and undisturbed leaf litter. It is a species of southern and eastern England, with a restricted and declining distribution.
Pale Shining Brown
Pale Shining Brown Polia bombycina
The Pale Shining Brown (Polia bombycina) is a scarce noctuid moth of dry, open calcareous and sandy grassland, its larvae feeding on low-growing plants of short turf, including restharrow and related species. It has a restricted distribution in Britain, largely confined to southern and eastern England, and is considered a declining species. Suffolk’s Breckland and chalk grassland habitats – with their warm, open conditions and characteristic chalk and sandy grassland flora – provide the most suitable habitat in the county.
Barberry Carpet
Barberry Carpet Pareulype berberata
The Barberry Carpet (Pareulype berberata) is a rare geometrid moth entirely dependent on native Barberry (Berberis vulgaris) as its larval foodplant. Following the widespread eradication of native Barberry in the twentieth century – driven by its role as an intermediate host of wheat stem rust – the moth declined to near-extinction in Britain. Concerted conservation efforts, including the planting of Barberry at key sites, have helped to stabilise and slowly recover populations in East Anglia.
Lunar Yellow Underwing
Lunar Yellow Underwing Noctua orbona
The Lunar Yellow Underwing (Noctua orbona) is a scarce noctuid moth of dry, open habitats such as heathland, sandy grassland, and coastal dunes, its larvae feeding on low-growing plants and grasses on light, well-drained soils. Once more widespread, it has declined considerably across Britain and is now largely confined to the south and east of England. Suffolk’s Sandlings heathlands and coastal sandy habitats provide suitable conditions, and the county holds records from a number of heathland and coastal grassland sites.
Horehound Longhorn
Horehound Longhorn Nemophora fasciella
The Horehound Longhorn (Nemophora fasciella) is a scarce micro-moth in the family Adelidae – characterised by the males’ extraordinarily long antennae, which can exceed body length several times over – whose larvae are associated with horehound plants on dry, open, calcareous or sandy ground. Long-horn moths are most conspicuous in sunshine when males form dancing swarms near the foodplant.
Grey Carpet
Grey Carpet Lithostege griseata
The Grey Carpet (Lithostege griseata) is one of Britain’s rarest moths – a Breckland specialist almost entirely confined to Suffolk and Norfolk, where its larvae feed on Flixweed (Descurainia sophia) on open, disturbed sandy ground. It is a priority species for conservation and one of the most geographically restricted moths in Britain, with Suffolk holding a central place in its national survival.
Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth
Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Hemaris tityus
The Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth (Hemaris tityus) is a day-flying hawk-moth of exceptional charm, its transparent wings and bumblebee-like flight making it one of the most remarkable insects in the British fauna. Its larvae feed on Devil’s-bit Scabious (Succisa pratensis), tying it to unimproved, damp grassland and fen habitats. Nationally scarce and declining, it is associated in Suffolk with the Waveney Valley fens and damp heathland, where Devil’s-bit Scabious is present in good quantity.
Bordered Gothic
Bordered Gothic Sideridis reticulata
The Bordered Gothic (Heliophobus reticulata) is a scarce noctuid moth of dry, open habitats such as coastal grassland, sandy heathland edges, and chalk downland, where its larvae feed on low-growing plants including campions and related species. It has declined across Britain and is now largely confined to the south and east of England. Suffolk’s coast and sandy hinterland provide suitable habitat, and the moth is recorded from a number of sites along the county’s coastal strip and inland sandy areas.