In a small section of the numerous hedgerows on Langridge Farm, David Goiver spotted these little beauties. Small Eggar Moth we think. They need 3 year old thorn bushes to build their silky den, so some sympathetic hedge management is required to allow then to do this. They are also very sensitive to insecticides, which haven’t been used for more than 3 decades at Langridge. We hope to grow this colony, but they can cocoon themselves in the hedge for 3 years or more before they fly. We can only hope to have the right habitat at the right moment and hope that the females, full of eggs, don’t fly too far.
