Clifden
Nonpareil Catocala
fraxini (Linnaeus, 1758)  |
Status
.....Formerly a rare migrant to south-eastern parts of
the UK but now believed to have re-established itself in some counties
south of the Thames. Perhaps surprisingly, it was only recently recorded
as being new to Nottinghamshire, when the individual above was attracted
to MV light, by Ian Hunt and Phil Cadman of the Lound Moth Group on
06/09/17, with a second county record coming from Stanton-on-the-Wolds
in September 2020 (Mathers, S.).
In 2022, there were a series of
at least seven records from across the county and the number of records
continue to increase during 2023, showing that this once huge UK rarity
can turn up anywhere.
We
are indebted to Paul Brock, for kindly providing us with
the opportunity to photograph the impressive larva in May
2018 (lower two photographs). |
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Captive bred adult.
Photographed June 2022 |
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Photographed
at Lound GP/Idle Valley NR September 2017 |
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Early stages  |
Ova/egg.
Photographed October 2021 |
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Newly hatched larva
(length 5mm). Photographed April 2022 |
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Larva undergoing
first moult (length 10mm). Photographed April 2022 |
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Full grown
larva. Photographed May 2018 |
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