Poplar hawkmoth, I repeat, poplar hawkmoth. The Poplar hawkmoths have landed. 🦋🐾
Sometimes the world feels bleak, but moths keep me going.
I've been a bit remiss with my moth posting lately, I'll try and share some more to make things a tiny, fluffy speck better.
[Siren wailing]... Big pink hawkmoth season is upon us. I repeat, big pink hawkmoth season. This is not a drill.
This is an elephant hawkmoth, warming up its wings & taking off. It's caterpillars are also magnificent chonks, and they eat rosebay willow herb (AKA fireweed in the US I think?) This is a perfect reason to do less weeding. Keep some weeds, get big pink hawkmoths like this one.
Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board ✨🦋🐾🛹✨
Good morning friends - lime hawkmoth, this is not a drill, I repeat, lime hawkmoth!
It's InverteFest week and look at this chonky jet-plane-looking pal that dropped by the moth trap! Here it is in the classic tail-up "you woke me TF up when??" pose. Sorry little buddy. Wouldn't fly off, so we coaxed it on to a tree & I'm hanging around so that it doesn't get picked off by a bird (although it's reasonably well hidden, but I worry... I have coffee and mini-eggs though, so it's all good.)
Moth trapping is a way to record and release local insects, no moths are hurt and they all get released afterwards (I try to put them somewhere well hidden though because of hungry birbs.)
Politely requesting that you pause and behold the utterfuckingly delightful frosted green moth that visited me this morning.
Look at its little face! The stripey socks! So fluffy!! The world is on fire, but moths exist; see them and know there are still good things for you to keep existing for too.
The caterpillars of this moth eat oak leaves. Another reason to look after local street oaks, & protect even small areas of trees. Where I live, developers have been successfully taken to court for deliberately damaging protected oaks. So it's worth reporting damage!
Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board ✨🦋🐾🛹✨
Good moth friend alert: spotted today, a super-fuzzy pale brindled beauty (I think) on nice lichen. My 1st moth of 2025!
That is all, please go about your evening, thank u.
To improve your day, please look at this beautiful small elephant hawkmoth, sitting in a sunbeam/just hanging out on a moth trap tray 🦋💖
Next time someone tells you moths are dull, show them this flying kitten in particular.
This moth eats bedstraw plants, willowherbs, and purple loosestrife. To help fluffy flying friends like this one, leave some weedy/unmown areas in your garden if you have one. Do less weeding. You don't need to mow everywhere. Have a rest instead, maybe a coffee or two. If anyone asks, tell them you're looking after your local pollinators/flying kittens.
Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board ✨🦋✨
Please enjoy the delightful antennas of these male spongey moths while I wait for spring and moth season.
This species is a relatively infrequent visitor in my area of the UK. In some countries/regions it's considered a pest on trees, but it's not reportable here - so these glorious beasts went on their way after I logged their visits
May we all have moments of looking this magnificent 💖🦋
Please enjoy this magical small emerald moth friend who visited me last year. I'm looking forward to mothing season starting again soon! 🦋💚
May your year be filled with all the soft beautiful moths you need to get through it, including this one.
Looking back at the best moth species that visited this year and...
🚨 Flying kitten alert 🦋🐈💖
This is moth is called the nut-tree tussock. Clearly it should have been called the flying kitten. Please tell a friend who likes cats but not moths; moths are fluffy tiny flying kittens. Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board ✨🦋✨
Oak lantern moths are the most delightful micro-moth friends. Look at those long antennas! The battenburg cake colouration!! I have a tattoo of this species lifecycle on my shoulder. It's such a good moth.
May we all find comfort in tiny arthropods when we need it.
To help moths like this, please look out for your local trees, and report any damage to street and park trees to you local council/equivalent. Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board 🦋✨
It's too stormy to put the moth trap on right now - had to pack it away to keep it safe in the gale. Poor moths out there, I hope they're hiding in sheds and log-piles and other safe places.
Anway, in the mean time pls enjoy this Enpinanga borneensis moth, captured by Budak. It is an excellent camo moth. <3
This lovely pearlescent friend decided I was not salty enough and contained no nectar, so I put them on a flower instead 🦋🌼
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Edit - yes, this is a box-tree moth. I've posted a few of these friends before, they're so familiar I forgot to mention the name. Ooops! 😂
I'm also aware some people consider them 'invasive' here in Europe. That to me is a bullshit descriptor. This moth was brought here *by us*... By humans indulging their habit of taking species (eg plants and all the bugs that come with) outside their original range, dumping them somewhere new, then whinging about what they do there. Those species are not the ones doing the invading, we are responsible.
This moth mainly appears to be a problem for people who love faffy plastic-looking box tree topiary, or who have unfortunately inherited box hedging. I'm gonna call it a sign from the universe to plant more environmentally useful mixed hedging that feeds a lot more bugs n birds, but doesn't generally get wiped out by them. I'm gonna keep enjoying the occasional presence of this moth, thank you from the Moth Promotional Board, I'll stop ranting now.
Good morning live from the moth trap, where I'm *trying* to release the moths but uhhh... Apparently some of them want their weekend lie-in 🤷 Most relatable moth ever! Just nopes and climbs right back to bed 😂
This one is a dusky thorn, holding its wings in that characteristic thorn moth way.
May we all get the rest we need this weekend.
Some beautiful recent moth-trap visitors 🦋💖 If you love these fluffy moth friends and are lucky enough to have a garden, please leave some weedy areas & long grass for them to eat, & dead leaves/foliage for them to hide in. Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board 🦋✨
1 & 2. Yellow shell 💛🐚
3 & 4. Spongey moth 🧽🦋
5 & 6. Orange swift 🍊💨 - look at its fluffy legs?!!
7 & 8. Common wainscot 🪵🧱
9. FURIOUS common grass veneer 😡🌾
10. Equally FURIOUS checkered grass veneer 😡🏁
[Just to add again: spongey moths are not considered a pest reportable to forestry services in my area of the UK. So this majestic floof was released to go about its day.]
