Day 2 - Wildlife Discovery Day, Forde Abbey, Dorset

What a fabulous day this was! There was so much to see and explore and we had the moth traps out (I'm afraid it wasn't me who got up at 4 am to go and check the moth traps this morning!) It was so encouraging to see adults and children alike enthusing about the moths. It was a little damp for butterflies, but we certainly made up for it with the number and quality of moths we caught overnight.

Favourites of the day were:

Buff Tip (This got a lot of 'Wows' from everyone.)
Eyed Hawk Moth - we loved it's 'I'm so scary when I flash my wings open and reveal my hidden eyes' look.
Privet Hawk Moth
Elephant Hawk Moth
Brimstone
Peppered Moth

And I learned today that some hawk moths do not have mouth parts. They eat so much as caterpillars that they don't need to feed as adults. And when you look through the hand lens at the Buff Tip, its face looks remarkably like a teddy bear, but that's not a very scientific thing to say!

Favourite quote of the day, "All these moths aren't from this country are they?" I was pleased to inform the questioner that not only were they from this country, but they had been caught in our moth traps last night" Great to get people excited about moths. I hope this event is repeated every year. How I wish this were my day job!

Buff Tip

Eyed Hawk Moth

Moth trapping

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Elephant Hawk Moth