Ever seen one of these?

[devonwoody]

I think it is some kind of moth, any information welcome.

In the garden all day yesterday but gone this morning.

 

[Myfordman]

Use google image search to identify it perhaps?

 

[RobinBHM]

It could be a brexit moth

 

[Kalimna]

Possibly a privet hawk moth?

A link to the website I found the picture on :
http://www.norfolkmoths.co.uk/?bf=19760


Cheers,
Adam

 

[devonwoody]

Thanks, now I know where those giant caterpillers come from seen in previous years.

 

[n0legs]

Silence of the lambs.

 

[Eric The Viking]

Cor that takes me back!

As a child we used to keep them. We had the caterpillars feeding on privet in flower vases during the summer - boy they ate a lot! They'd pupate, but we had poor success after that, I think only two or three actual moths in several years of trying. At the time I didn't know how to look after the pupae properly, and I think that was probably the problem. The ones that did emerge though were spectacular (and huge). The best bit was letting them climb onto a stick in a warm place and watching their wings unfurl and dry.

At the time (early 1970s), we used to live near the Forestry Commission research station at Alice Holt, and a couple of their entomologists went to our church. They came round to the house sometimes, and identified the first caterpillars I found for me. They (the entomologists!) later became minor celebs during the Dutch Elm disease disaster, as they were working on understanding the beetle that caused the fungal infection to spread so fast.

 

[Frank S]

Thank you, DW, for sharing. I have never seen one and I think it is beautiful. You are a very lucky man.
Frank S.

 

[Cinimod]

Lovely, haven't seen one of those in ages =D> one of the best places to visit is a butterfly and moth house, the tropical varieties are truly spectacular.......dom

 

[Claymore]

Beautiful critter and they taste lovely..... only joking, we are supposed to have them here but I haven't seen one.
A few years ago while riding my harley on the A65 at night a big critter hit me in the face and going by the mess it caused it could have been one of these giant moths lol always wear a full face helmet since then

 

[Stanleymonkey]

Beautiful critter and they taste lovely..... only joking, we are supposed to have them here but I haven't seen one.
A few years ago while riding my harley on the A65 at night a big critter hit me in the face and going by the mess it caused it could have been one of these giant moths lol always wear a full face helmet since then

That must have been quite the clean up afterwards :shock:

 

[Jonzjob]

Moths are incredible machines and there are far more types than there are butterflies. That's a real cracker you have there. We don't get them down here as far as I know? But we do get these



Elephant hawk moths. You get them in the U.K. also. We also get humming bird hawk moths, but they are so fast it's very difficult to photograph them! I had managed it but I can't find the photo at the mo..

 

[Benchwayze]

Privet Hawk Moth. Caterpillars also feed on Privet, Lilac Bushes/trees and even teazel.

They are mostly found in the southern part of England. They can overwinter as pupae for up to two years, buried quite deeply. The adults feed on nectar and they have one of the longest tongues in the insect world. That one looks like a female, btw. I have seen only one live specimen. If you picked that up, it was probably freshly emerged, and was still resting, waiting for its wings to dry fully before flight. Sometimes when you touch freshly emerged moths, they startle you by ejecting all the rubbish they built up during pupation! :shock:

HTH

John

 

[devonwoody]

We put it back to the fence and he stayed for many hours but went overnight.

 

[Jonzjob]

Along the lines of caterpillars, we get these little sods



Pine processionary caterpillars. Very much like the oak processionary and just as dangerous! We must have trapped and destroyed over 2,000 of the dammed things this year in our 18 pine trees!

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Beautiful critter and they taste lovely..... only joking, we are supposed to have them here but I haven't seen one.
A few years ago while riding my harley on the A65 at night a big critter hit me in the face and going by the mess it caused it could have been one of these giant moths lol always wear a full face helmet since then

I was glad of a full face when doing highly illegal speeds on the way home one night from work I hit a bumblebee smack in the middle of the visor. It nearly took my head off.