Convolvulus Hawk-moth

At what stage of its life is a Convolvulus Hawk-moth a Convolvulus Hawk-moth? This might seem a daft question, but the answer determines whether I have seen two of them, or three.

The first was on October 12th, 2010, on the Scilly Isles. It's pretty sobering to realise I had already chalked up half a century plus before I saw a Convolvulus Hawk-moth, and even that was pure serendipity. As the crowd dispersed following a Pied Wheatear twitch on St Mary's, someone spotted this...

Waiting for dusk...and for all the people to go away.

To get that photo, I honestly cannot remember if I went to quite the same lengths as Ian Lewington, but probably...

I was delighted with this encounter and, not being a moth-trapper, never particularly expected to see another. But on October 21st, 2019, while doing some work very close to our bungalow, I almost put my hand in what I thought was a nasty big blob of excrement. Until I looked closer...

Convolvulus Hawk-moth caterpillar.

It was Twitter folk who retrospectively identified it for me, so this rather poor phone pic is all I have. Still, the question remains. Is this my second Convolulus Hawk-moth, or not?

And so to last night.

We have several potted Nicotiana plants close to the garden cabin, and in a quietly optimistic corner of my mind I have nursed a hope that they might pull in one of these splendid moths. I have no idea whether it was the Nicotianas wot dun it, but the first I knew of our success was when I peered in the mouth of the trap late yesterday evening and spied a massive moth peering back. And I just knew.

Sadly it is a beaten-up specimen, and maybe only recently arrived on these shores. More politely, I ought to call it 'well travelled' perhaps...

Convolvulus Hawk-moth

Just two (and a bit) months into my mothing career, and already the humble trap is graced with one of these awesome creatures. I feel very privileged.

It was not the only sphingid caught last night, but the Poplar Hawk-moth looked rather small in comparison.

At the other end of the scale was a diminutive pug which I initially called Wormwood. The Wormwood/Currant Pug challenge is fun, and invariably comes down to subtleties of wing shape as well as size and markings. Some time back I lifted a load of [expertly - and presumably correctly - identified] internet images of both species from the instructive Moth Dissection website, and constructed a collage. Generally I will photograph any that are not obviously Wormwood Pugs, then compare with the collage, thus...

On this basis, today's head-scratcher is actually a Currant Pug. It was quite a tiddler, so that makes sense. I do enjoy this kind of ID challenge, which feels perfectly doable. Unlike the 'gen. det.' jobs which necessitate microscopic examination of surgically removed bits of tiny tackle. Not for me thanks.

Currant Pug

Other ID challenges are provided by the regular micro-moths which come our way. Two from last night...

Otherwise known as Wainscot Smudge. A new one for us, but apparently very common.

In 2009 the Spindle Knot-horn was described as '...a suspected immigrant, transitory resident and rare resident' in Dorset. However, judging by the current Living Record maps, it seems fairly common now. I think this is our second.

One last moth. This is not the first Peach Blossom to decorate the NQS trap, but the previous example was so battered and worn that I couldn't bring myself to photograph it. I hope that one day we get a pristine fresh one (which this is not) because it clearly has the potential to be a stunning beauty...

Peach Blossom