Very Rare Moth!

[Neil Hulme]

Hi all,
Last week I was privileged to see this fine beastie. It's the excessively rare Spurge Hawkmoth, trapped by some friends at Shoreham, right on the Sussex coast. There are only a handful of UK records in the last 100 years, although the species was known to breed very locally (Devon, Cornwall, Suffolk, Essex) during the C19th. Many thanks to Pen and Dave for letting me in on this one.

P1040703_edited-2.jpg (241.41 KiB) Viewed 3756 times

Neil

[Susie]

What a cracking find and a lovely picture too. Well done!

[Neil Hulme]

Thanks Rosy,
I'm not the world's greatest moth-er, but chances like that don't come along too often! But all Hawkmoths are cool.
Neil

[Perseus]

Hello,

Is there a date for the sighting please?

I live in Shoreham and I would like to include the report on my local Nature Notes and the picture with permission. With credits, of course.

Adur Butterfly & Large Moth List
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Butterfly-list2008.html

Cheers

Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2007.html
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2008.html
Adur Valley Nature Notes: June 2008
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/June2008.html

Adur Valley & Downs Gallery
http://www.flickr.com/groups/adur/pool/

[Neil Hulme]

Hi Andy,
The Spurge was trapped by Penny and Dave Green on the 9th June - full details on BC Sussex website.
Neil

[Perseus]

Hello,

Thanks. I had already found this and updated my web pages.

Cheers

Andy Horton
glaucus@hotmail.com
Adur Valley Nature Notes
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2007.html
http://www.glaucus.org.uk/Adur2008.html

[cheddar-caveman]

Well done Sussex! Beautiful picture! Like you, I think the Hawks are cool and here's one on our Budlia last year, my first attempt of freezing such a fst flier! Unfortunately the Budlia has died from Honey Fungus so one source of butterflies and moths has gone

[Neil Hulme]

Hi cheddar-caveman,
I just LOVE 'Hummers'! We were spoilt by the 2006 influx and I really missed them last year. Let's hope they come over in numbers again soon.
Neil

[Martin]

If you like Hawk moths...

Elephant


Small Elephant


Poplar


Lime


Martin.

[Matsukaze]

I am a big fan of the Hummingbird hawk-moth too. Paradise was reached in February this year, in Merida in Spain. Here there are extensive Roman ruins, which for some reason were highly attractive to our hovering friends, and several could be seen at once working their way around the walls (I am not quite sure what they were doing, as there were no nectar sources to be seen).

One day I must try a suggestion from John Bebbington of the Somerset Moth Group, who planted part of his garden with nectar sources (red valerian I think) and the low-growing foodplant (lady's bedstraw) in front of that, and the moths came to feed and breed. The caterpillars are pretty exotic in their own right.