Privet Hawk-moth

After a disappointing start to the year, we're finally starting to get good numbers of moths in the trap. This morning this beauty turned up -  our largest resident hawk-moth. It's common enough in southern England; the caterpillars feed on privet, ash and lilac, so it's just as frequent in suburban areas as in the countryside. 

Alex and I drove down to Bedfordshire for our annual monitoring trip to a restored sand-pit. Fortunately the weather was much cooler than yesterday!