Field Guide
🪲
Buff-tip
Phalera bucephala
Not yet photographed by the community
Disguises itself as a broken birch twig at rest.
Species Profile
Green List; locally common and not of conservation concern in the UK.
- Lifespan
- 3–4 weeks as an adult moth
- Size & Weight
- 32–35 mm wingspan; robust, heavily built moth
- Habitat
- Woodlands, parks, gardens, and areas with abundant birch, alder, and hazel trees.
- UK Distribution
- Found throughout England, Wales, and southern Scotland; resident species with populations reinforced by immigration from continental Europe.
- Diet
- Larvae feed on the leaves of birch, alder, hazel, and occasionally other deciduous trees.
- Predators
- Birds, particularly during the larval stage; parasitoid wasps and flies.
- Mating Season
- May to July
- Breeding
- Females lay clusters of 20–60 eggs on host plant leaves; larvae are gregarious and highly conspicuous, developing through five instars before pupating in leaf litter.
- Behaviour
- Adults are nocturnal and attracted to light; they are well-camouaged when at rest, resembling broken twigs. Larvae are boldly coloured in black and yellow, advertising their unpalatability to predators.
- •The moth's name derives from its buff-coloured tip, which resembles the end of a broken birch twig, providing excellent camouflage.
- •Caterpillars are gregarious and highly toxic, containing defensive compounds that deter most predators; their bold coloration warns of this toxicity.
- •A single birch tree can be completely defoliated by a large aggregation of Buff-tip caterpillars in outbreak years.
- •The species has expanded its range northward in recent decades, likely due to climate warming.
- •Adults emerge in late spring and are among the larger nocturnal moths attracted to garden lights in May and June.
🪲
No photos yet
Be the first to photograph a Buff-tip and share it with the community.