Photo by Anna Allum
Heathland is one of the important habitats for the Emperor moth – one of our largest and most spectacular moths, who has peacock-like spots on its wings.
Female Emperor moths are large, with a wingspan up to 10cm, and are fluffy grey-brown moths with big peacock-like eyespots on all four wings and pinky-red markings at the wingtips. The females are active at night, but rest low-down in vegetation during the day, releasing a special scent, called a pheromone, to attract males.
Males are more colourful, often having orange on their underwings, but share the same eyespot markings on all wings. They are active by day and could be seen flying swiftly over the heathland in search of a female. The males have the most incredible feathery antennae; the large surface area helps them to detect pheromones from several kilometres away.
The caterpillars feed on woody plants, such as heather, bramble and blackthorn.
See an emperor moth: Whilst we do have Emperor moths on the heath, they are not sighted regularly, but keep an eye open for the fast-flying males in April and May.
Heathlands Reunited: This is part of a series of blogs introducing some of the fascinating creatures we find on our heathlands. They'll all be featuring on our newly interpreted trail on the heath created as part of the Heathlands Reunited Project. This partnership project, led by the South Downs National Park Authority aims to restore and reconnect the precious heathland habitat across the National Park.