Newly emerged Elephant Hawk Moth, Deilephila elpenor, in a garden in the centre of Ovenden this evening.
After about three hours in this position the wings are almost fully pumped out.
Photographing one is a minor ambition realised, having only seen them in books before!
Congratulations Julian! Did you rear it from a caterpillar? My moth ambition is to find an Emperor Moth on the moors. May have missed them yet again this year! I've seen the caterpillar twice, but never the moth.
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve, not raised from a caterpillar - purely a wild animal! I've wanted to see an elephant hawk moth almost all my life, ever since my dad described finding the caterpillars in Elland when he was a kid in the forties.
DeleteFantastic!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sophie S. I put a thumbs up but it was posted as a question mark.
DeleteBet that one brought a smile to your face! They look almost too spectacular to occur in our neck of the woods, more a tropical species. Just goes to show what flies at night when everyone's tucked up in bed.
ReplyDeleteA spectacular insect anywhere! Interesting how it lays its antennae along the leading edge of its forewings.
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