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Poplar Hawks Mating on a Bluebell, Winning British Wildlife Category in the BBC Wildlife Contest 1992
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Poplar Hawk Moth (Laothoe Populi)
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The Poplar hawk moth was the first hawk moth larvae I ever found in the wild, as a young boy I still remember how exited I was rushing home to look in my oxford book of insects to identify the three fat caterpillars I found, so it has been my favourite hawk moth ever since, for many years I collected a few wild larvae each year, I have in the past found this moth in all stages of its development. Larvae and eggs can be found on poplar, sallow, willow and aspens, by carefully turning low branches, easy to find on young poplar trees which often are used to border football fields, rivers etc.
When at rest the moths hind wings rest above the fore-wings, with its distinctive shape and clever shading of the scalloped wings makes it well camouflaged on a tree bark or branches of leaves. The Poplar hawk moth is one of the most frequent moths I find caught in my mercury moth trap, and I always find it interesting to see what kind of grey or pink variety the moth is before photographing it during the day and releasing it the next evening.
The picture of the Poplar hawk moths mating on a bluebell won me first prize in the Insect Category with the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the year 1992 competition.
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Collecting wild Poplar Hawk Moth eggs in your garden
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The easiest way to collect wild Poplar hawks is to grow cut branches of poplar cuttings, which root very quickly, you don’t need a big garden, I have mine in pots, when the trees are in leaf, just turn over the leavesto find the eggs, which look like green pearls. I then cut the leaf around the eggs, then place them in a sleeve of netting, and then just leave them to feed naturally. Just change them to a new branch before all the leaves have been eaten. Then collect the larvae before full grown and place them with poplar branches in a escape proof cage or container, The caterpillars will change a darker colour when looking for earth to pupate in, and wander about, its then you must place them in a box filled with peat, a few weeks later place them in a cage, and wait for them to hatch. Andy Newman©
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