12 August 2014
11 August 2014 – Crossing the Alps
Elephant Hawk-moth (larva) |
A surprise for Sterne scholar, Helen Williams, who spotted this creature trundling across the gravel in the garden at Shandy Hall.. Only the second one I have seen and in exactly the same spot as the previous time. We put some enchanter’s nightshade, willow herb and fuchsia into a large container (food-plants in case of hunger) and some leaves and soil which within 24 hours it had burrowed beneath. So now the wait …
The trunk-like appearance of the caterpillar gives the moth its name. There are plenty of the brightly coloured adults that come to the trap over the summer, so it isn’t a scarce species.
Hopefully now the trailing hem of Hurricane Bertha will have whisked off into the North Sea and we can get back to trapping.
Reducing the scale from the enormous to the scarcely visible – here is a rather attractive micro caught at the York Museum Gardens last week – Phyllonorycter harrisella or the White Oak Midget. I’m not sure if it is the oak that is white, or the moth; or perhaps the oak is the midget. Anyway it is a particularly stylish insect and can be seen below.
Phyllonorycter harrisella |
Recent Moths
- 25 July 2023 – Collective Noun for Hawkmoths
- MOTH LIST to August 2023 with links
- 28 July 2023 – TRIPLE New Species Alert!
- 18 July 2023 – A Golden…Plusia!
- 13 July 2023 – Arts and Sciences
- 10 July 2023 – Rise of the Yellow Underwings
- 4 July 2023 – Cold-weather Catch
- 4 July 2023 – Mother of Pearl, an Inspiration to Science
- 28 June 2023 – Buff-tipped Marble
- 23 June 2023 – Moth or Butterfly?
- 20 June 2023 – Bee, Straw, Emerald and a Ghost
- 17 June 2023 – Old and New