A shell and a snout

The moth trap hasn't produced anything unexpected over the Easter weekend (other than managing to stay upright in last night's windy conditions!). Here's a couple of other findings though, both from Great Kimble, Bucks.

We have a large mullein plant in the garden that has a rosette of very hairy leaves under which insects like to shelter, and when I looked under them last week I found this caterpillar. It was clearly a geometer, and with the help of the new Henwood/Sterling/Lewington guide, plus the excellent UK leps website, it wasn't too difficult to narrow it down to Yellow Shell. The whitish subdorsal stripe running all the way to the tip of the hind claspers was one clue.

Yellow Shell feeds on a range of plants but I don't know if it was actually tackling the felted hairs of the mullein or if it was just hiding there while feeding on more digestible leaves nearby.

A few nights ago the distinctive shape of a snout moth appeared on my bathroom ceiling. I managed to get close enough for a slightly fuzzy photo, and then tried to catch the moth for a portrait session the following day, but it had other ideas, and after leading me round a few circuits of the small room it promptly dived back out of the tiny window through which it must have arrived.

But I got enough to confirm Buttoned Snout, a new species for the house/garden.