Hawk moths

The recent warm nights have made moth-trapping more worthwhile - last night we had three elephant hawk moths and one privet hawk (see extra) in the trap. These large, colourful moths tend to be very well behaved first thing in the morning when they're still cool and were quite happy to participate in a short photoshoot.

It was a good job I took some early photos, as the rest of the day proved to be devoid of good photo-opportunities. Pete and I had agreed to lead walks at a Bioblitz at Ring's End Nature Reserve near March, but hadn't anticipated temperatures of 30C and very little shade. Most of the plants were dry and wilting and the insects were either hiding or moving so fast that there was no chance of getting a photograph. Unfortunately the heat seemed to have put off the public and attendance was very poor which was a shame, though a couple of families joined Pete for the bug walk towards the end of the afternoon.

It should be another good moth night tonight, as temperatures are unlikely to drop below about 18C. As the forecast is for another very hot day, my blip for tomorrow may be another early morning moth!