Ghost moth

rdf:langString Ghost moth

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Hepialus

rdf:langString Hepialus_Humuli_.png

rdf:langString Fabricius, 1775

rdf:langString humuli

rdf:langString Genus:

rdf:langString *Noctua humuli (Linnaeus, 1758) *Hepialus thulensis (Newman, 1865) *Hepialus humulator (Haworth, 1802) *Hepialus hethlandica (Staudinger, 1871) *Hepialus rosea (Petersen, 1902) *Hepialus albida (Spuler, 1910) *Hepialus azuga (Pfitzner, 1912) *Hepialus grandis (Pfitzner, 1912) *Hepialus dannenbergi (Stephan, 1923) *Hepialus pusillus (Stephan, 1923) *Hepialus rufomaculata (Lempke, 1938) *Hepialus albida (Bytinski-Salz, 1939) *Hepialus roseoornata (Bytinski-Salz, 1939) *Hepialus uniformis (Bytinski-Salz, 1939) *Hepialus faeroensis (Dahl, 1954) *Hepialus fumosa (Cockayne, 1955) *Hepialus radiata (Cockayne, 1955) *Hepialus postnigrescens (Lempke, 1961) *Hepialus postrufescens (Lempke, 1961) *Hepialus griseomaculata (van Wisselingh, 1965) *Hepialus thuleus

rdf:langString *Hepiolus (Illiger, 1801) *Epialus (Agassiz, 1847) *Epiolus (Agassiz, 1847) *Tephus (Wallengren, 1869) Species:

rdf:langString The ghost moth or ghost swift (Hepialus humuli) is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is common throughout Europe, except for in the far south-east. Female ghost moths are larger than males, and exhibit sexual dimorphism with their differences in size and wing color. The adults fly from June to August and are attracted to light. The species overwinters as a larva. The term ghost moth is sometimes used as a general term for all hepialids. The ghost moth gets its name from the hovering display flight of the male, sometimes slowly rising and falling, over open ground to attract females. In a suitable location several males may display together in a lek. The larva is whitish and maggot-like and feeds underground on the roots of a variety of wild and cultivated plants (see list below). The species can be an economically significant pest in forest nurseries.