Neil Shaw Images (3)
PINE HAWK MOTH
Flushed with my success of finally finding four Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillars, a few days later I was sat on the patio when this chap came ambling by my feet. There's nothing quite as exciting when after close on sixty years of being obsessed with nature that you come across something new for the very first time. We have a large pine tree next to the house and with the caterpillar being on the ground I figured it was about to pupate. Popped into a container with a base of leaf mould and pine cuttings, it immediately went to ground. Next spring it will be released having happily survived the winter.
PINE HAWK MOTH
Flushed with my success of finally finding four Elephant Hawk Moth caterpillars, a few days later I was sat on the patio when this chap came ambling by my feet. There's nothing quite as exciting when after close on sixty years of being obsessed with nature that you come across something new for the very first time. We have a large pine tree next to the house and with the caterpillar being on the ground I figured it was about to pupate. Popped into a container with a base of leaf mould and pine cuttings, it immediately went to ground. Next spring it will be released having happily survived the winter.