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William Butterfield - 15 July 2016
I took a photo of an Eyed Hawk Moth. I live in Vermont USA. Have they dispersed from Europe?
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Hi William, there are similar, related species in North America, such as the Twin-spotted Sphinx.  I guess it was probably one of these rather than our European Eyed Hawk-moth.

 

Jonathan Bye - 11 July 2016
I considered this a brilliant resource when I used it previously but the update is better still!
Keith Bond - 6 July 2016
Hi, I used your site to identify a species of moth that I saw in my garden today. It was Syncopacma polychromella. It was getting nectar from my Sedum plant. I live in Everton in the south of England if this information is useful to you. Many Thanks for your site. Regards,Keith Bond
Debbie Bryant - 4 July 2016
Delighted to be able to identify an elephant hawk moth I spotted today in Acle, Norfolk. Your website was brilliant. Thank you
Andrew Thompson - 2 July 2016
What a great website! Thanks for all the hard work that must have gone into it. It allowed us to identify a beautiful leopard moth that we saw today whilst walking near Four Crosses in Shropshire. We took some photos which we'll send in case they are of any interest.
Sarah - 30 June 2016
My husband and I are freelance copywriters and editors, writing mainly about the natural world. Your website is a cracker, full of incredibly helpful information, and wow! is it looking smart now too! We're currently working on some creative nature writing courses, and we'll include a list of our personal favourite websites for finding information. We're also compiling a list of websites for young people who are keen on wildlife, for a major client. You'll be on both lists! Thank you.
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Thanks Sarah!

Andy Newbold - 29 June 2016
I have found your website extremely useful and an excellent complement to the field guides (especially the photos of moths in natural situations). However, yesterday I caught an Anania perlucidalis which your information describes as scarce but I understand that it is actually now quite common at least in the upper Thames region and I wonder if your information perhaps need updating?
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Thanks Andy, I've updated the species account accordingly.

Catherine Dunn - 14 June 2016
Really useful site thank you. Just identified a privet hawk moth using your beginners guide, twenty most common species section. Great photos.
V Moyses - 12 June 2016
I grow viper's bugloss. The other day someone on the radio mentioned VB, saying a rare (endangered ??) moth needed VB. What moth was it and is it diurnal or nocturnal ?
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Hi Valerie, we exchanged emails on this separately but here's my response, in case anyone else is wondering:

There are a handful of species in Britain that are recorded feeding on Viper's Bugloss.  There is in fact a moth called Viper's Bugloss (see http://ukmoths.org.uk/species/hadena-irregularis/) but this is now considered extinct in this country and hasn't been recorded since the 1960's.

I suspect the moth they might have been referring to is Ethmia bipunctella, which is restricted to a few coastal areas in the south-east of England (http://ukmoths.org.uk/species/ethmia-bipunctella/).  It has very specific habitat requirements and flies at night, but is unlikely to be found in gardens.

Pauline Hiam - 11 June 2016
I have seen a black (jet black) moth with oranges spots on it, can anyone tell me if this is rare? Much appreciated Pauline
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Probably not, I'm afraid - it sounds like one of the Burnets, many of which are quite common.

sue herapath - 30 May 2016
moths often come into our bathroom at night. a big moth flew in last night. this morning i found your site. it was a poplar hawk moth. thank you for your marvelous site. Mrs Sue Herapath
Richard Griffiths - 28 May 2016
This is a great site but sometimes the moths can be difficult to find due to the strict interpretation of punctuation such as hyphens etc. Would it not be possible to allow us to use a search term like "pale shouldered brocade" to actually take us to "Pale-shouldered brocade" and the page would then show us where we went wrong. There is definitely enough info to allow a slightly fuzzy search to give us the correct moth.
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Hi Richard,

Thanks for your feedback.  This has been a problem since I rebuilt the site, and I've been trying to figure out a way to solve it, but I believe I've now done this and you can search for things like "pale shouldered" and "hawk moth" without a hyphen and they will now return matching results.

Cheers,
Ian

Sophie - 18 March 2016
This website is great! Every time I come across a moth, I always find it here, even if sometimes by the vaguest keywords possible. I love it!
Simi Bignall - 28 February 2016
Thank you for this wonderful website. I am impressed with it's clarity and organisation. The photos are top-notch and really helpful.
Ben Sale - 19 December 2015
A superb resource for an amateur moth recorder like myself. I have used this site for over 5 years now and always go to it to confirm a species even out in the field when I can only remember the first two letters of the micro moth I have in front of me.
Angie Seymour - 22 November 2015
Hi Ian , good to meet you at the DaNES Insect Show ...and many thanks for talking me through using your website ........absolutely brilliant ....I have no problems at all this morning .... Many Thanks
Sandra Kennedy - 24 October 2015
Great site and so easy to use. My elderly neighbours who has dementia had a lovely moth in her living room and we were able to take a photo and identify it as an 'Angle Shades' quickly with the help of the site. She was delighted.
Steve Whitehouse - 12 October 2015
re; Vitula edmandsii - I am sure that Spurn Point is still in East Yorkshire - despite the North Sea doing its best to remove it from the map completely!
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Good point Steve.  Even with the erosion I don't think it could have made it so far inland (West Yorkshire)!  I've corrected it now, thanks.

Sally Watkins - 7 October 2015
My neighbour found a large caterpillar on her fuchsia bush. After finding your excellent site we found it was a elephant hawk moth. We weren't sure what to do with it so put it back on the bush. I shall certainly visit this site again. Can't wait to find out more. This year we found 5 stag beetles in our garden and despite being 76 years old it has all renewed my childhood love of nature.
Doug Gilbert - 4 October 2015
Hi Ian. Thanks for a great website - it is an enormous help for me in moth I'd and a great source of info on life cycles etc. Facelift looks good too! One suggestion for the photo's. They now sit at the bottom of the description and, whereas in the old site it was possible to scroll easily through them on each species account, I find I have to laboriously scroll down to the bottom of the page each time to select different pics. Is it possible to put them at the top, or make it so that a click on to the main image takes you to a slideshow of the other images?
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Hi Doug, one or two people have asked for this, so I've now updated the species pages so the photos will open in a slideshow from the main photo.

Jonathan - 2 October 2015
Another feature suggestion - the ability to filter images by e.g. larva, pupa, etc. so it's easier to see thumbnails of caterpillars without the adult forms.
Chris Nichols - 25 September 2015
Having spotted three bright yellow caterpillars devouring my Alexandra rose, I was pleased to be able to identify it through your website - a Grey Dagger moth. Thanks. This is the first moth caterpillar I've ever (knowingly) seen. It's only taken me 75 years!
Heather - 21 September 2015
Last Monday, 14th Sept, we found a Goat Moth caterpillar beside the road near Bunane, near Kenmare in Southern Ireland. It was huge, so clearly looking for a site to pupate. Never seen anything like it!! Thanks to you, I've found out what it was. So, I know it wasn't UK.......we were on holiday.
Jim Taylor - 20 September 2015
After planting tobacco plants, moving house, moving plants as well, replanting to no avail, I eagerly set up my moth trap for the moth night survey to see if we could find a Convolvulus hawk moth. 1 rainy night with 1 large yellow u/wing and another with more yellow underwings and a couple of others I wasn't surprised to dip out (sorry about birding terminology) with the target species. Today I see a shape on the outside of my bathroom window, rush outside with binoculars and low and behold a Convolvulus Hawkmoth. tried to open window and it was gone. I have searched the garden but no sign. trap out again tonight.
Richard Ayley - 17 September 2015
Ever thought of producing this sight as a mobile App for Android and Apple products? There's one for butterfly's but not one for moths. Could be a nice little earner! :)
Janet Lander - 13 September 2015
Last evening 12th., we found an Elephant Hawk-moth caterpillar feasting on the leaves of an Evening Primrose!! So exciting
Paul Wilkins (Bath) - 11 September 2015
Whilst I usually find it disappointing when a website is 'updated' the new UK Moth website looks great and is just as easy to use as the old one. An excellent website all round.
kevin - 10 September 2015
I saw a hawk moth humming bird last week in brighton , it was so amazing to see such movement .
W Burns - 10 September 2015
I thought at first that I had hit the wrong 'link'! Excellent update, well done to all involved.
Chris Davis - 7 September 2015
Congratulations on your upgraded site. Quite a step forward. I am not sure that I am getting the best from the key word search. Could you give some examples please.
Reply from Ian@ukmoths:

Hi Chris,

This needs a little more work by me yet - it's only meant as a guide to lead you towards the main colourful species, but you could try adding negative words to filter out some of the ones you don't want - e.g. "white -black" should list moths with white in them but not with black (in theory).  But it's not working as it should at the moment - I will try to improve it in the near future.  Thanks, Ian.

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