| Ghost Moth | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Hepialidae |
| Genus: | Hepialus Fabricius, 1775 |
| Species: | H. humuli |
| Binomial name | |
| Hepialus humuli (Linnaeus, 1758) |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Ghost Moth (Hepialus humuli), also known as the Ghost Swift, is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is common throughout Europe except for the far south-east. This species is now considered the only species in the genus Hepialus which previously included several other species now reclassified into other genera.
The male has a wingspan of about 44 mm and both forewings and hindwings are pure white (although in H. h. thulensis, found in Shetland and the Faroe Islands, there are buff-coloured individuals). The female is larger (wingspan about 48 mm) and has yellowish-buff forewings with darker linear markings and brown hindwings. The adults fly from June to August and are attracted to light. The species overwinters as a larva.
The Ghost Moth gets its name from the display flight of the male, which hovers, sometimes slowly rising and falling, over open ground to attract females. In a suitable location several males may display together in a lek.
The larva is whitish and maggot-like and feeds underground on the roots of a variety of wild and cultivated plants (see list below). The species can be an economically significant pest in forest nurseries.
The term ghost moth is sometimes used as a general term for all Hepialids.
Contents |
Species previously placed in the genus Hepialus include: