Saturday 18 May
Fisher's estuarine moth (Gortyna borelii lunata)
Fisher's estuarine moth fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Fisher's estuarine moth description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Lepidoptera |
| Family | Noctuidae |
| Genus | Gortyna (1) |
The race of Fisher's Estuarine Moth that occurs in Britain is subspecieslunata (3). Adults are generally pale orange-brown in colour, with dark and light spots on the forewings, and a dark band passing across the bottom of the forewings (5). The caterpillars are black with greyish stripes and a shiny, reddish head (5).
- Size
- Wingspan: 42 - 60 mm (2)
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Related species
Fisher's estuarine moth biology
Fisher's Estuarine is a single-brooded moth. Active at night, adults can be found flying around or resting upon the foodplant (2), hog's fennel (Peucedanum officinale) in September and October (3). The overwintering stage is the egg, and caterpillars are present from June to August; they initially feed in the stems of the foodplant, but as they develop they then move to feed on the roots (2).
TopFisher's estuarine moth range
Restricted to one area in the north-east of Essex (3), where it was first discovered in 1968 (2), but had probably been present since at least 1903 (3).
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Species with a similar range
Fisher's estuarine moth habitat
Inhabits marshy fields (3), offshore islands, raised banks and waste-land where the larval foodplant occurs (6).
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Species found in a similar habitat
Fisher's estuarine moth status
Classified as Vulnerable in Great Britain (3), and fully protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981 (4).
TopFisher's estuarine moth threats
The threats facing this species include changes in land use, such as agricultural intensification. The foodplant is also a local species (3).
TopFisher's estuarine moth conservation
Fisher's Estuarine Moth occurs in one National Nature Reserve, and so receives a degree of protection at that site. It is also fully protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act of 1981; it is illegal to intentionally kill, injure, take or sell this moth, or to damage or destroy its habitat under this act (7). The species is also included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme.
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View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
Find out more
For more on English Nature's Species Recovery Programme see:
http://www.english-nature.org.uk/science/srp/default.asp
Further reading on moths:
Leverton, R. (2001) Enjoying moths. Poyser, London.
Skinner, B. (1984) Colour identification guide to moths of the British Isles. Viking, London.
Authentication
Information authenticated by Sean Clancy.
TopGlossary
- Single-brooded
- (Also known as 'univoltine'). Insect life cycle that takes 12 months to be complete, and involves a single generation. The egg, larva, pupa or adult over winters as a dormant stage.
- Subspecies
- A different race of a species, which is geographically separated from other populations of that species.
References
- National Biodiversity Network Species Dictionary (September 2002) http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nbn/
- Skinner, B. (1984) Colour identification guide to moths of the British Isles. Viking, London.
- Shirt, D. B. (Ed). (1987) British Red Data Books: 2. Insects. Nature Conservancy Council, Peterborough.
- The Environment Agency. (1998). Species and Habitats Handbook: 'look-up' chart of species and their legal status. The Environment Agency, Bristol.
- Personal observation from ARKive images.
- Clancy, S. (2003) Pers. comm.
- JNCC. The Wildlife and Countryside Act, 1981. (September 2002): http://www.jncc.gov.uk/species/Legislation/protect/default.htm
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Image credit
Fisher's Estuarine
© Paul Waring
Paul Waring
Windmill View
1366 Lincoln Road
Werrington
Peterborough
PE4 6LS
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1733 571 917
paul_waring@btinternet.com
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