by mummatron 8 Replies latest jw friends
Found this wee beastie on my garden wall this evening. I know it's a moth but what type? I've never seen anything like it before in my life. You should get an idea of its size in relation to the brick. I love how its markings are a pinky red and khaki green, so although it photographed clearly, it was actually pretty well camouflaged - evidence of evolution maybe? Don't suppose the garden of Eden had a red brick wall..?
mummatron, I believe that is an Elephant Hawk Moth (Deilephila elpenor); moths certainly are not my specialty so I most definitely could be wrong. I was so curious from your photo -- I have never seen a moth so beautiful before -- I just had to find out, Deilephila elpenor is my best guess.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/linjohnpics/5168947095/
I'm sorry this is becoming ridiculous at this point, for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to embed a photo (or video for that matter); the hyperlink provided should direct you to a relative of the one moth you captured in your yard.
~ Fortis
Crazy moth you got there mummatron. Here's the pic fortis...
It's looks like Obama. Kinda pretty, but only comes out at night and doesn't do much....
unshackled, thank you !!
Thanks Fortis!
I can identify a fair few butterflies but I've not come across many varieties of moth so never really learned about any of the different species.
Now I know what it is, I Googled and found out some interesting info. I now realise it was an elephant hawk caterpillar that I spotted 2 weeks back right next to some rosebay willowherb (Epilobium angustifolium), which we have in abundance here, only a few feet away from where I found this this fella. Apparently their numbers have increased over the past few years which might explain why I don't recall ever having seen one before today.
Do you live in the amazon or what?
LOL @Sam Whiskey!
Haha shamus100!Funny to think we have such beauty and diversity in such an ecologically boring part of the UK. I didn't see anything half as visually stunning as this in the butterfly house at Bristol Zoo. It cost me £12 to get in there, whereas I found this little guy by accident when I was getting my washing in off the clothes line.
Beautiful!
