On the Wildside: The spectacular lime hawk moth

The beautiful ‘elephant hawk’ (red, green, and gold) for example, feeds on rosebay willowherb spreading dramatically as it followed this plant along railway lines where the old steam-trains set fire to the trackside vegetation and the willowherb (known also as ‘fireweed’ or ‘railway flower’) was close behind. During World War Two, the willowherb and the moth benefitted from bomb-sites created by the wartime blitz. Today, these two species continue to thrive, especially as urban sites are cleared and recycled, becoming for a while what ecologists call ‘urban commons’. Another hawk that is seen in local gardens is the ‘poplar hawkmoth’ and this will be found close to the tall, thin Lombardy poplars, or else by Italian black poplars, and grey poplars, all usually planted.

Along the roadsides lined with Edwardian or late-Victorian planted street-trees, the European or common lime is popular, and this is the host of the pretty ‘lime hawk’. Indeed, this is where I found the specimen shown in the photograph and which I think had blown out of the tree canopy during strong winds. It was on Meersbrook Park Road in Sheffield and was feasting on one of the lovely lime-trees saved from decimation a few years back and now thriving. The caterpillar was crawling along Jan Turner’s brick wall, and I think was trying to scale the heights to get back to the tree canopy. The caterpillar had a distinctive pulsating sinuous way of moving rapidly (for a caterpillar) over the brickwork. I do hope it got back to where it perhaps hoped it was going. Of course, as a mature specimen it may have been seeking out a safe place to pupate. These avenues of street trees, especially limes, form biodiversity hotspots full of life in the urban landscape. Just stand under a roadside lime tree in summer and you can hear the pollinating insects simply buzzing with life, and these creatures support blue tits, great tits and an ecological food-web.

Professor Ian D. Rotherham, researcher, writer & broadcaster on wildlife & environmental issues, is contactable on [email protected]; follow Ian’s blog (https://ianswalkonthewildside.wordpress.com/) and Twitter @IanThewildside