Looking for all the world like the result of giving an over imaginative child some crayons and telling it to colour in a moth, this Elephant Hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor was photographed in my back garden in early July. Actually it was a bit of a cheat as the stunning pink and olive-green creature was actually found whilst I was working in a garden in Hemel Hempstead. I put the moth into my empty sandwich box and carried it around with me for the rest of the day until I returned home in the late afternoon. Carefully placing the moth on a Peony paeonia I took some pictures before hiding it deep in the shrub out of harms way, where it remained until later that evening. Elephant Hawkmoths which are found throughout Britain, flying from May to July and are commonly seen in gardens at dusk where they visit tubular flowers such as Honeysuckle, Red Valerian and Petunias.
Elephant Hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor. (02/07/2010)
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