Ghost Moth - Definition and Overview

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The Ghost Moth, also known as the Ghost Swift (Hepialus humuli), is a moth of the family Hepialidae. It is common throughout temperate Europe.

The male has a wingspan of about 44 mm and both forewings and hindwings are pure white (although in some races there are buff-coloured individuals). The female is larger (wingspan about 48 mm) and has yellowish-buff forewings with darker linear markings and brown hindwings. The adults fly in June and July and are attracted to light. The species overwinters as a larva.

The Ghost Moth gets its name from the display flight of the male, which hovers, 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. Recorded food plants include burdock, dock, hop, nettle and strawberry as well as a variety of grasses and the species can be an economically significant pest in forest nurseries.