26th June 2009 - the Nine-spotted

Amata phegea (the Nine-spotted or Fehérpettyes álcsüngőlepke)

I wasn't in Hungary during June or the first half of July - too hot - for another 4 years after the first sighting of that Burnet-like moth. During these 4 years I had become increasingly interested in moths. So when I arrived in Miskolc in late June 2009 this time I recognised it from an illustration I had seen - the striking, day-flying moth which seemed to be everywhere, in numbers, in woods and gardens, crawling and sprawling over shrubs and window frames... It was the Nine-spotted (Amata phegea, Fehérpettyes álcsüngőlepke) - known to British lepidopterists as the only member of its family, the Ctenuchidae, on the British list.

The Nine-spotted has been recorded just twice in the UK (and even these records have been doubted) - as a rare immigrant - but for this reason is illustrated in our guide books. Even in Hungary, this moth must be regarded as a special taste of the south. According to Waring and Townsend (2003) the Ctenuchidae is a family of some 3000 species mostly tropical in distribution with very few species found wild in Europe. This species is said to be 'local' in southern Europe. One of the ecological themes of the Bükk hills in northeastern Hungary is the mingling of central- and southern- European species in the rich semi-natural habitats of south-facing limestone slopes.

Incidentally, the superficial resemblance of the moth to the poisonous Zygaenidae (Burnets and Foresters) is an example of mimicry, but whether Batesian or Mullerian I do not know for I do not know if the Nine-spotted is palatable or not.