Guy, you seem to have overlooked my post above, or maybe you dismissed it out of hand, but I must insist that the name valesina was originated by one Eugen Johann Christoph ESPER 1742-1810. The spelling with a Z was probably an error of Frohawk's, since copied by some British authors. P.S. I've just...

Felix, you say the spelling should be valezina after Valezina Frohawk, but she was named after the butterfly, not the butterfly after her. The spelling with a Z seems to be confined to a few British authors: e.g. Frohawk, Tolman, Jeremy Thomas. The spelling valesina is found in all my continental bo...

Is the a butterfly house near you? It could have been some exotic escapee. A lot of people breed big silk moths.

Misha

Both of you spot on. Well done. Here's a picture showing the underside of a leaf with the culprit and an unhatched egg. Over to you Alexander.

Small caterpillar of something larger!

Misha

No Guy, I'm not that devious. It's lepidopterous. Characteristic feeding damage of a honeysuckle feeder.

Misha

Double square-spot (Xestia triangulum).

Misha

Sorry, I didn't mean it to appear twice. Haven't done this before.

O.K. What is responsible for the holes in this leaf?

Misha

White Admiral?

It's inconclusive. The costal yellow stripe doesn't seem to be as well developed as I would expect in E.complana, but the moth looks a trifle worn. According to Leraut's Moths of Europe vol.1 complana is confined to the extreme north east in Spain, so it can probably be ruled out on those grounds. E...

Royal Mantle (Catarhoe cuculata), a nice moth.

Misha

The resting position with wings wrapped tightly around the abdomen rules out several species. I would tentatively go for E. caniola (Hoary Footman), but would not rule out E. complana. But there may be species in Spain I know nothing about. A side view can be helpful sometimes.

Misha

The resting position with wings wrapped tightly around the abdomen rules out several species. I would tentatively go for E. caniola (Hoary Footman), but would not rule out E. complana. But there may be species in Spain I know nothing about. A side view can be helpful sometimes.

Misha

Definitely a Striped Hawkmoth. Feeds on Fuchsia, Bedstraw, Dock etc. Looks pretty well fully grown. Give it some earth to bury into in case it's ready to pupate.

Misha

Paul, I have just looked at my copy of Butterflies by E.B.Ford (the first in the New Naturalist series). Plate 45 shows artaxerxes, agestis and what Ford calls the hybrid race (salmacis). Interestingly, two of the three undersides of salmacis lack the lower spot of the colon and in the third it's re...

Dave, I think your moth is one of the Minors, a difficult group for which genitalic dissection is often necessary, but I would suggest probably the Tawny Marbled Minor.

Misha

A. Large Twin-spot Carpet
B. Rustic Shoulder-knot ?
C. Common Swift
D. Sycamore
E. Dot
F. Middle-barred Minor ? a trifle worn.

Misha

I have just chanced to find a photo of a Brimstone apparently ovipositing on Ceanothus. See: http://picasaweb.google.com/trevorfcarpenter/ButterfliesAndinsects2009 I had often wondered if Brimstones might use it as a foodplant, given that it is in the Buckthorn family. The Powdered Brimstone uses Ch...

They are eggs of a shieldbug, probably the Green Shieldbug (Palomena prasina), I'm afraid!

Misha