This marker on the Cambridge Butterfly Trail is at Cherry Hinton hall park – see the map above.

The Pine hawk-moth is a large, nocturnal moth found through much of southern and eastern Britain, often around pines and conifer plantations. With a wingspan of 65 to 80mm, its sleek, greyish-brown forewings bear three to four dark streaks and two striking thoracic lines, perfect camouflage against tree bark.

Adults emerge in a single generation from May to early August and feed by night on nectar from honeysuckle and other scented flowers, sometimes drawn to artificial light traps.

The caterpillars are visually more vivid: smooth, bright green with creamy lateral lines, a dark dorsal stripe and small tail spike, feeding on needles of Scots pine and related conifers between June and September. After feeding, they pupate in leaf litter or just beneath the soil, overwintering until the following spring.

Once rare, the Pine hawk-moth is gradually extending its British range northwards, aided by conifer reforestation.

For more information, please visit Butterfly Conservation’s page on this species – Pine hawk-moth.