This is the year for this fantastic moth with reports of them from throughout the UK. In D&G we have only 12 previous records (1870, 1888, 2003(2), 2005(2), 2006(2), 2007(3), 2016). This is one of the classic migrants from the Europe with most records from the east side of the country including many from Shetland! There have been several found in D&G this year (this one from Caulkerbush) although I don’t know the full extent of the records yet. It is thought that in this year most (if not all) are fertilised females ready to lay eggs wherever they land up.
Of the 12 old records five were of larvae which, like most of the hawk-moths, are large and boldly marked creatures. It is dark-green or brownish when fully grown with a pair of bright yellow spots on each segment and a red ‘horn’ at the end of its body. The caterpillars grow rapidly and feed on bedstraws and rose-bay willowherb and are most commonly seen in early autumn when leaving the plant looking for a pupation site beneath loose soil.
