Narrow-bordered bee hawk-moth  (Hemaris tityus)

Learn about the scientific name of this species and how it fits into the tree of life at Nature Navigator.

Range

Once widespread but local throughout the UK, the Narrow-bordered Bee Hawk-moth underwent a severe decline from about 1950. It became extinct at many former sites, especially in the east of its range, surviving mainly in south-west England, west Wales, Northern Ireland and the west coast of Scotland. Welcome signs of a recovery have been noticed in the past decade, and the moth was re-found in East Anglia in 1999 (5). The species has a local distribution in the western Palaearctic, and has been recorded from most European countries (2).

You can view distribution information for this species at the National Biodiversity Network Gateway.

Habitat

Inhabits many types of unimproved grasslands. It also occurs on acid bogs, peat cuttings and dry heathland sites (2). In all cases, it requires a source of the foodplant of the caterpillars, devil's bit scabious (2), growing in a large area of suitable habitat (5).

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