Surprise moth at Bromyard

I ran a public moth event on Bromyard Downs for Hereford Wildlife Trust last night. Needless to say the sky cleared, the temperature dropped and the public had to be content mainly with the Poplar, Eyed and Lime Hawkmoths that I'd taken along, which obligingly sat on the sheet in the bulb light. They were joined by a few common moths. I went to sleep at about half past midnight with minimal moth activity. I rose before 4:00 am to very wet mist and poor visibility. I was surprised to add quite a few moths to the list including Orange Footman, Seraphim, Tawny Pinion, Clouded Brindle, Ancylis laetana, Elachista argentella but nothing really out of the ordinary.

    As I walked up to the final trap I did a double take and a loud expletive interrupted the dawn chorus as I saw a superb Striped Hawkmoth sat in the middle of the top egg box. So far it has not stopped revving once out of the fridge. Robin Hemming

Bromyard Downs: Striped Hawk-moth