Moth for ID please

[Outlaw]

Hi moth fans.

I was hoping someone could identify this moth, or possibly butterfly. It appeared in my study this morning. not sure if it flew in from outside or if it just woke up and started flying around.

Its unusual because it doesn't look like a moth, it looks like a butterfly. It's a similar size to peacock or tortoiseshell and looks like a butterfly in flight. It's chocolate brown all over with some patterning on the wings and an odd head shape. I'm familiar with the larger buttterflies so I'm guessing this is a moth.

Sorry the picture's not that great but its the best I could do with a camera that doesn't seem to have a macro function.



Any ideas?

[James M]

Looks like an Old Lady Mormo maura maybe?

[nutmeg]

Yes, an Old Lady.

[Outlaw]

Hi. Thanks for your replies.

It does look a bit like an old lady in some of the pictures I've looked at, but its very dark. It also has these odd raised bits on its head, rather than a smooth head.

One thing is it's genuinely big. When it's in the air it looks like a bat flying around!