A Rare Treat

Clifden Nonpareil, Catocala fraxini.  Crowborough, 4 September 2018.

This is a Clifden Nonpareil, sometimes called Blue Underwing. It was once resident in the UK, but died out, and was then seen only as an occasional immigrant.  It is re-establishing itself, but still is only seen a few times a year away from the coast.  So I was lucky that this specimen appeared on my garden fence above the light of my moth trap.

I saw it from my kitchen window before dawn and thought I might have a Red Underwing.

Red Underwing, Catocala nupta.  West Wickham Common, 8 September 2016.

That would have been good because although these are not scarce, they rarely come to light, and I have only seen two, both at West Wickham Common.  But no!  It was bigger and better than that.

Clifden Nonpareil, Catocala fraxini.  Crowborough, 4 September 2018.

And it is big, one of our biggest moths.   The Old Lady is quite sizeable:

Old Lady, Mormo maura. Kelsey Park, 28 August 2015.

.. But it's not as big, and it lacks the flashy underwings.  For size, you might consider Hawk-moths; they are pretty big, like this Privet Hawk-moth that some trappers brought to Sevenoaks.

Privet Hawkmoth, Sphinx ligustri.  Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve, 7 July 2013.

I saw one at Hayes the next year.  These were very impressive.  Incidentally, blue is a rare colour among moths.  I only know one other in Britain with some blue, and it's another Hawk-moth:

Eyed Hawk-moth, Smerinthus ocellata.  Crowborough, 3 July 2017.

All of these were a real pleasure to see and handle.  But the Clifden nonpareil is the rarest.

Clifden Nonpareil, Catocala fraxini.  Crowborough, 4 September 2018.