Tuesday 21 May
In the News: First crane egg in the western UK in four centuries
Scarce blackneck moth (Lygephila craccae)
What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.Scarce blackneck moth fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Scarce blackneck moth description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Lepidoptera |
| Family | Noctuidae |
| Genus | Lygephila (1) |
Adult Scarce Blackneck moths are similar in appearance to the blackneck moth (Lygephila pastinum), but have a deeper black collar behind the head and four dark marks along the front edge of the fore-wings (3). The wings are pale grey to brown (3). The slender caterpillar reaches 3.6 cm in length, and is pale brown in colour with a darker mottled stripe along the back (4).
- Size
- Wingspan: 4.0- 4.6 cm (1)
More »
Top
Related species
Scarce blackneck moth biology
Eggs are laid singly on the leaves of the foodplant in summer, where they overwinter and hatch the following spring. The caterpillars feed at night until June and pupate on the soil surface; the pupa is covered by a silk cocoon(4). The adults emerge in July and August (4) and fly at dusk (3).
TopScarce blackneck moth range
In the UK, this species is currently restricted to 6-7 isolated coastal sites in north Cornwall, north Devon and Somerset (5). These populations are vulnerable to local extinction (2). Elsewhere, the species has a wide distribution in Europe from Scandinavia to Crete in the south (2).
More »
Species with a similar range
|
You can view distribution information for this species at the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
Scarce blackneck moth habitat
Inhabits coastal cliffs and rocky areas (1) where occasional slippages occur (2). The disturbance caused by these slippages results in good habitat for the caterpillars' foodplant, Wood vetch Vicia sylvatica (2).
More »
Top
Species found in a similar habitat
Scarce blackneck moth status
Classified as Rare in Great Britain (2).
TopScarce blackneck moth threats
The main threats to this species are the stabilisation of the coastal cliffs on which it lives and collection of caterpillars at well-known sites (2). The growth of rank vegetation due to natural succession can cause the loss of populations of the Scarce Blackneck, as can severe landslips (2).
TopScarce blackneck moth conservation
The Species Action Plan for the Scarce Blackneck produced under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP) aims to maintain the current known populations (2). This species is the subject of a regular monitoring scheme on one of the sites, which is a Devon Wildlife Trust reserve (2).
|
The UK Biodiversity Action Plan for this species is available at UK BAP. |
|
View information on this species at the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre. |
|
|
There may be further information about this species available via the National Biodiversity Network Gateway. |
Find out more
Further reading on moths:
Leverton, R. (2001) Enjoying Moths. Poyser, London.
Skinner, B. (1984) Moths of the British Isles. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth
Authentication
Information authenticated by Adrian Spalding.
TopGlossary
- Cocoon
- A sheath of silk, which is spun around the pupae of some insects (a pupa is a stage in an insect's development, when huge changes occur that reorganise the larval form into the adult form. In butterflies the pupa is also called a chrysalis).
- Natural succession
- The progressive sequence of changes in vegetation types and animal life within a community that, if allowed to continue, result in the formation of a 'climax community' (the last stage in a succession where the vegetation reaches equilibrium with the environment).
- Pupa
- Stage in an insect's development when huge changes occur, which reorganise the larval form into the adult form. In butterflies the pupa is also called a chrysalis.
- Pupate
- The process of forming a pupa, the stage in an insect's development, when huge changes occur that reorganise the larval form into the adult form. In butterflies the pupa is also called a chrysalis.
References
- Skinner, B (1984) Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles. Viking Press, London.
- UK BAP Species Action Plan (December 2001): http://www.ukbap.org.uk
- South, R. (1961) The moths of the British Isles. Frederick Warne & Co. Ltd., London.
- Porter, J. (1997) The Colour Identification Guide to Caterpillars of the British Isles. Viking, London.
- Spalding, A. (2003) Species Profile. The Scarce Blackneck. Atropos19.
More »Related species
Sign up to our newsletter
Get the latest wild news direct to your inbox.
Get involved
ARKive relies on its media donors to donate photos and videos. Can you help? There are plenty of other ways you can get involved too!
X
Close
Close
Image credit
Scarce Blackneck
© David Green / British Butterfly Conservation Society Ltd
Butterfly Conservation
Manor Yard
East Lulworth
Wareham
Dorset
BH20 5QP
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1929 400 209
info@butterfly-conservation.org
http://www.butterfly-conservation.org/
X
Close
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
X
Close
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
X
Close
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.