A new visitor to my little garden. Help please!

[Scott]

Hello there, firstly I would like to say I am both completely new to this site and also that I'm pretty ignorant about both butterflies and moths, apart from the ones that are very common around my garden.

However I do take an interest in all the beasties that inhabit my patch, and so when I saw something new today I thought I'd pop online to see if I could find out what it was. It's tough when you know so little and there are so many types out there, so I thought I'd come to a forum that seems to be full of enthusiasts and hope that just maybe, someone out there can shed a little light on the situation for me.

So I'll get on with it.

As I said, I'm pretty ignorant about moths and butterflies, so it's only fair to say from the outset that, not knowing the definition of the difference, I'm not sure if my gardens new visitor was a butterfly or a moth, which probably makes it twice as many things to search!!

Bit of background to start off with, as I'm not sure which parts of this will be relevant. Firstly this was sometime today (5th July) between 5-6pm in Newcastle. Somewhere between 15-20 celsius but overcast, humid and just spitting on with rain.

I was in the greenhouse when this beastie flew in the open window and landed on one of my chilli plants.

"So what did it look like?!" I hear you shouting. Well I'll tell you. It was about an inch and a half to two inches long at rest. It had a very hairy back from what I could see. I'd say only the top third of its back, as the wings covered the rest. The hair was a sandy colour. It didn't seem to have one of those long curly mouthparts that I see on so many butterfly photos. The wings were a plain colour on top, a reddish brown I'd say, with only 2-3 slightly darker marks to break up the colour. Normally I wouldn't have looked twice, as it was pretty plain that far. But when it flew, its under wings, I'm sorry to say I don't know any technical terms, but I mean the 2nd set of wings, that you can't see when the animal is at rest, were an extremely bright, vibrant orange, with a single (that I could see) clear, strong, distinct black stripe going across them. Also I don't know whether it's relevant, but at rest, the wings were more flat on its back, like a tabletop, rather than some photos, that seem to show some species wings in a vertical position at rest, almost like side panels. Again I don't know if these things have a technical term, so apologies for any weird descriptions when I'm sure there's a one word answer for them!

Hope this is detailed enough and that someone knows what I had, as I'm curious. If there's anything else that I can tell people to help, then just ask, I got a very good look at it, as it was a brave bugger and no matter how close I looked it never so much as flinched. (I never touched him/her by the way, in case anyone was wondering).

Thanks in advance butterfly guys!

Scott

[grumpy]

Hi Scott, from your description, try looking for Large Yellow Underwing moth or its relations, very variable on the forewings but has yellow/orangey underwings. Just a starting point on your quest. I stand to be corrected !!

Best wishes

Dave C

[Scott]

Just checked your suggestion Dave, and I have to say I'm so impressed! That certainly seems to be the fella I saw! Some of the pics had a lot of variation on the top wings, where the one I saw was extremely plain, but some of the pics show that as well.

Of course I know that some species are only slightly different, so I suppose there's a chance that it's something else, but to anyone else who may have an idea, then certainly think along the lines of the large yellow underwing, as that pretty much exactly right.

As for this particular moth, does anyone know a lot about them? I rarely see moths during daylight hours, and never this one before! Are they very common, and do they usually appear in the rain? I'd think it wouldn't do their wings much good!

[Scott]

We do get LOADS of moths in the summer though, in a range of sizes, though usually not as big, hairy or colourful as this chap. Usually the moths that appear are the typical, common pale brown things, often very small that only pop up at night and fly through the window when the light is on.

[Trev Sawyer]

These moths often spend the day concealed in low garden bushes and usually only fly during the day if disturbed...
Maybe you (or someone else) had brushed by the plant it was sitting on causing it to fly out, or perhaps the oncoming rain had disturbed it. I've even seen them hiding inside stacks of flower pots - they can tuck in to very narrow places.

Trev