Goat Moth

[pete76]

Imagine my surprise when I found this settled on the sheet next to my trap:





He was stunning, definitely one of the most impressive moths I've seen. It's been one I've been hoping to see, but never thought I had much chance.

They aren't that common - is it worth reporting it to the county recorder?

[aeshna5]

Nice one. It's been years since I saw one.

Definitely worth informing the county recorder.

[david156]

Nice find. I've never seen one.
Had to put moth trapping on hold for the moment. Hopefully once the Blackbird at my mums has finished nesting (now on its fouth attempt - another story for another day) i'll get the trap out there.

Cheers David

[Adam Cheeseman]

Definitely one for the county recorder. Very nice moth. Well done.

[nutmeg]

What a good one to see!

[Uv moth notingha]

Frighteningly lucky experience that .... I see you are down in surrey , plenty of old woodland for the goat moth caterpillars to munch on for 8 years (a long time , aint it !!) . Here up north (east midlands ) I doubt there has been a single goat moth flying about for many years ........ Mothing is good fun , about to invest in a Mercuary vapour blended bulb my self to get in on the action . (onrdinary bulbs only give modest results )
Ta
UVMOTH

[pete76]

Thanks for the comments - I've sent a note to the recorder.

It's funny really, while there are a few trees around me, there isn't really a patch of proper woodland nearby, it's mostly individual trees (including oaks) between houses. It's a shame that it was set to rain that night and I didn't leave the trap out all night, otherwise I'd have got some macro shots.

It's what I love most about mothing - you just never know what you're going to get. It's times that the weather was bad and I'd been reluctant to put the trap out that I've got the best moths.

[Wild-Woman]

Last time I saw one of these was at Thursley when we mothed there on a meet a few years ago. I've seen the caterpillar twice and they are very impressive too. Very large and look like they'd be at home in the rainforest!

[Adam Cheeseman]

The favourite larval food plant is willow. I like the way it looks like a delicate lace web is laying over the wings of the adult. Very nice moth. Had one nearly fly into my mouth when trapping one night a couple of years back at Bedfont.

Cheers,

Adam