Elephants in the garden!

It was very late by the time I put the moth trap out on Wednesday evening, and I wondered whether it was worth it but, not having tried it for some weeks as a result of the atrocious weather we've been having, I decided to give it a go.

And I'm glad that I did because, although there wasn't a lot of quantity on Thursday morning, there was a bit of quality!

Elephant Hawkmoth (above) and Small Elephant Hawkmoth (below) are two of my favourite moths - I love their beautiful subtle colours, though the latter is looking a tad worn! I tell them apart by whether there's a pink 'trunk' down the abdomen. If there is, then it's an Elephant Hawkmoth! Though the size is quite marked as can be seen in the video sequence below:


In this clip of the two of them on my hand, the Elephant Hawkmoth is warming up its wing muscles ready to take off. The speed of the wings is so fast that it results in an interesting wave-like motion on the video.

And this was an exciting find. It's a Crescent Dart, a Notable/Nb coastal species which has a bit of a stronghold here on the Isle of Wight.

Magic!

(Other species: Riband Wave - 2; Heart & Dart - 4; Dark Arches - 3; Uncertain - 1; Scalloped Oak - 1; Garden Grass Veneer - 1)