Small Eggar

    Eriogaster lanestris

    LasiocampidaeABH 66.005 B&F 1633

    This moth flies very early in the year and the adults are not often recorded; it is far more frequently recorded through its conspicuous larval webs on (almost always, in Somerset ) Blackthorn Prunus spinosa.  A moth with a population greatly reduced nationally by destruction and repetitive flailing of hedgerows; Somerset is one of its strongholds.  It occurs in a band across the county, absent from west of Taunton/Bridgwater, scarce in the Mendips and northwards, and absent east of Castle Cary/Shepton Mallet, apart from around Frome where another large population in Wiltshire just spills over the border.  

    Further reading - 

    Brown, K.  (2002). Some notes and observations on the Small Eggar Eriogaster lanestris (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) in Somerset.  Entomologist's Record  114: 88-91.

    Adult Verification Grade: 1

    Small Eggar (Eriogaster lanestris) photographed in Somerset by Christopher Iles
    Small Eggar (Eriogaster lanestris) photographed in Somerset by Jenny Vickers
    Small Eggar (Eriogaster lanestris) photographed in Somerset by John Bebbington
    Small Eggar (Eriogaster lanestris) photographed in Somerset by Christopher Iles
    Small Eggar (Eriogaster lanestris) photographed in Somerset by Jenny Vickers
    Small Eggar (Eriogaster lanestris) photographed in Somerset by Christopher Iles
    Small Eggar (Eriogaster lanestris) photographed in Somerset by John Bebbington