Species Details

ABH: 69.001

BF: 1979

Family: Sphingidae

Subfamily: Smerinthinae

Taxon: Mimas tiliae

Authority: (Linnaeus, 1758)

Vernacular: Lime Hawk-moth

Account: Common in broad-leaved woodland, parks and gardens throughout much of southern England, north to Yorkshire Unmistakable. Larva feeds on Lime, English Elm, Birch and Alder, over-wintering as a pupa.

Accounts provided by and used with the kind permission of Mike Wall, Hampshire County Moth Recorder. These will in due course be gradually replaced with species accounts with a Surrey context.

Wingspan: 70 — 80 mm

Surrey Flight Period: 15 Apr (2011) — 22 Aug (2021)

The flight period of overwintering adults are not given. See the flight chart below the distribution map.

Foodplant: Alnus glutinosa (Alder), Betula sp. (a birch), Prunus sp., Quercus sp. (an oak), Tilia sp. (a lime), Tilia vulgaris., Ulmus parvifolia., Ulmus procera (English Elm), Ulmus sp. (an elm).

Foodplant accounts are from the HOSTS database — Natural History Museum, London, UK. (CC0).

Status: Least Concern (LC)

UK BAP:

WCA:

Click here to view the full geology map of Surrey.

Verification Grade: 1 — Relatively easily identified 👌

Further Information: https://www.ukmoths.org.uk/species/mimas-tiliae/

Statistics

* Based on adult records only.

Records: 669

Individuals: 225

Earliest Year: 1857

Latest Year: 2025

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