...............and while we are on the subject can anyone help with a name for this one. It was quite large, about 1" from top to tail and was flying during the day
I'd say Catocala fraxini - or some other Catocala I'm not familiar with. If the hindwings had any blue, it is C. fraxini. If they had red or yellow, it is something else.
JKT thanks for pointing me in the right direction. My wife saw it land and said she thought that there was a flash of red on the underwing. It was about 12 ft. up a post so I was not able to disturb it (gently) to see for myself. We waited around for about 15 mins but it had more patience than me and we moved on. Anyway, unless anyone gives a different identification I will settle for Catocala nupta (red underwing)
Cheers
Dave