The Peach Blossom (Thyatira batis) is a moth of the family Drepanidae. It is found throughout Europe and is a fairly common species in the British Isles.
It is a striking species with brown forewings marked with five pink and white blotches which do rather resemble the petals of peach blossom. The hindwings are buff and grey. The wingspan is 40-45 mm. The species flies at night in June and July and sometimes a partial second brood emerges in late August and September . The species is attracted to light and sugar.
The larva is brown with white markings and several humps along its back. At rest it raises both ends as with many drepanids. It feeds on various Rubus species. The species overwinters as a pupa.
- ^ The flight season refers to the British Isles. This may vary in other parts of the range.
Famous quotes containing the words peach and/or blossom:
“The dog-wood breaks white
The pear-tree has caught
The apple is a red blaze
The peach has already withered its own leaves
The wild plum-tree is alight.”
—Hilda Doolittle (1886–1961)
“Where the bee sucks, there suck I,
In a cowslip’s bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat’s back I do fly
After summer merrily.
Merrily, merrily shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)