Oxygastra curtisii (Orange-spotted Emerald)

We have now encountered this delightfully marked creature twice in France. Our first meeting was at La Brenne, France, in 2012 and we didn’t see it again until 2023 in Arcais.

It used to breed in Britain and was known from two sites in Devon and one in Dorset. Sadly, it has been regarded as extinct in the UK since 1963. [Smallshire/Swash].

This is the only member of the genus worldwide. Its venation and appendages are, perhaps unsurprisingly, unique in Europe.

Id Notes

  • bright green eyes
  • distinctive line of deep yellow streaks along topside of abdomen
male
in flight

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