C.Rayz's photos with the keyword: Macroglossum stellatarum

We were watching the hornet flying about and trying to find one landed when I noticed this up in a small tree about 12'. Upon futher investigation it was this large moth. I of course proceeded to try to get a decent shot straight up with no luck. The tree he was up in had a trunk of no more than 3 inches but enough height bending it would have damaged it. We finally opted for disturb and hope it lands somewhere more convenient but he went to another tree and we lost sight. I'm a bit gutted now that I've ID'd this guy tonite...lol

I don't know if I'll ever get another of these, one of my dreams was to get some of the hawk moths before the season was out, I was just about to post this asking for confirmation of an ID when I went to the UKMoths site and this beast was on the front page, my heart sank at the thought that I've missed seeing this in action because the only other moth I'd like to see more than one of the hawks was the Hummingbird.. More of the story..