This is a truly special moth. One of the clearwing moths and one that s rarely seen unless you use a pheromone lure. These have only recently been developed so much is still being learned about the distribution of this species. The larvae feed below the bark of crack willows, sallows and poplars - all three species of which we have in in our garden!
I'd only seen the species once before when our late great friend Barry Barnacal phoned me to come and see one he'd attracted to a lure in his garden last year. Despite trying for several years to find one myself and seeing photos of ones attracted to lures further north on the Wirral I decided to persevere and ordered some more pheromone lures to use this year!
Success at last. Hanging the trap containing the lure in our garden I checked it awhile later to find this truly stunning hornet mimic had been attracted in.
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