Скачать или смотреть Buff-tip Moth (Phalera bucephala) - Brighton, June 2021 (Re-edited version)

Somehow over the years, I never seemed to be in the right place at the right time to see a Buff-tip Moth in the flesh.

It appears I made the mistake of thinking a moth evolved to hide itself among the branches of trees, was very likely to be found in said trees, not on the cabinet of a Southern Rail Timetable.

Silly me!

And I almost missed my first one. It was 1am and I'd already walked by a couple of times when I did a double take and moved in for a closer inspection.

With it's cunning disguise and ability to tightly roll itself up into the shape of a twig, this moth is more common, particularly in the southern half of the UK, than we might think, merely because we can't see it much of the time.

Other than Railways stations, it's to be found in most places containing deciduous trees, including gardens, woodland and the open countryside.

Mainly silvery-grey in colour, with a square-cut, buffy head, it has a buff-coloured patch at the tip of each wing, which gives it the common name.

When the wings open, you realise it's quite a large and chunky moth, up to approx. 34mm.

The moth you see in the latter two thirds of this video landed on my hand when I held it out, after which I placed it carefully on the leaf it's clinging to in the video.

Eggs are laid on the underside of variety of deciduous trees which the larvae will then do their best to decimate before heading deep under the soil to spend the winter.

When they emerge the adult moth flies at night, in a single generation from May to early August, peaking in June and July.

PK

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