Country diary: An improbable blend of cocktail lounge and military dowdiness

Buxton, Derbyshire: Elephant hawkmoths up close are remarkable - but why do I prize the adult stage over any other?I often liken the opening of my moth trap to Christmas morning in childhood: you have no idea what you are about to be gifted. Today, it's 17 elephant and small elephant hawkmoths, which is more than I've ever seen before.The first is an improbable blend of the cocktail lounge and military dowdiness, with shimmering lines of pink over matt olive. If anything, the small elephant hawkmoth is more striking, with the soldier's khaki replaced by a colour somewhere between aconite yellow and burnt grass. In certain lights, as I arrange them on a sheet beneath the shade of our oak, they look like lipstick on gold. Continue reading...