Waved carpet moth (Hydrelia sylvata)
| Kingdom | Animalia |
|---|---|
| Phylum | Arthropoda |
| Class | Insecta |
| Order | Lepidoptera |
| Family | Geometridae |
| Genus | Hydrelia (1) |
| Size | Wingspan: 2.6- 2.7 cm (1) |
Classified as Nationally Scarce in Great Britain (2).
Adult Waved Carpet moths have pale whitish-grey coloured wings with wavy brown patterning (3). A darker dusky-brown form also occurs in Kent and Sussex (1). The caterpillar is purplish-brown in colour becoming greenish towards the sides (4).
A very local species in the UK, the Waved Carpet is found in five main locations: Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, the borders of Hampshire Sussex and Surrey, Kent and East Sussex, and Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire. It is also occasionally reported from Wales and Cumbria. It is believed to be in decline in many parts of its European range (2).
The main habitats for this species are alder woodland and chestnut coppice. The caterpillars also feed on birch and sallow trees (5).
This moth is single-brooded, the adults fly in June and July and the caterpillars are present in July and August. The overwintering stage is the pupa(1).
This species may have suffered because the decline in traditional coppice management has resulted in a loss of young regrowth. However, populations appear to be stable in western Britain (5).
The Waved Carpet is a priority species under the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UK BAP). The plan aims to enhance the size of all known populations by the year 2010. Coppice for Butterflies, an initiative of the Forestry Commission has focused on five areas where the Waved Carpet occurs. A number of the current populations occur within nature reserves and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) (2).
Further reading on moths:
Skinner, B. (1998) Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles. Viking Press, London.
Leverton, R. (2001) Enjoying moths. Poyser, London.
Information authenticated by Adrian Spalding.
- Coppice: coppicing is a traditional form of woodland management in which trees are cut close to the base of the trunk. Re-growth occurs in the form of many thin poles. Coppiced woodlands are cut in this way on rotation, producing a mosaic of different stages of re-growth.
- 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.
- 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.
- Skinner, B. (1984) Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles. Viking Press, London.
- UK BAP (December 2001): http://www.ukbap.org.uk
- Pers. observation from images.
- South, R. (1961) The moths of the British Isles, Series 2. F. Warne, Wayside and Woodland Series.
- Spalding, A (2003) Pers. comm.