Submitted by stuart dawson on Fri, 29/08/2014 - 17:04

Hi

   My name is Stuart I have just joined Nature Spot today I would like help with my find I think I have got an elephant hawk moth living on a fuchsia bush in my back yard. I have look on your website and found a photo by Graham Calow taken in September 2009 that looks a perfect match for it. What I need to know is can I move it onto another plant so it will keep living as the fuchsia has not got long left before it dies dose it eat anything or has it got to be a special plant ?. Also it is about three inches long has it got long before it turns into a chrysalis or is there no way of telling and how long dose it stay like that before it becomes a moth as I would like to keep it to take photoes of all the stages and when I find out how to do it I will put them on your website. I would realy like as much help with this as I can possibly get.

 

                                                                                        Thanks  Stuart  [ STU ]

Comments

Submitted by Paul Ruddoch on Sun, 21/09/2014 - 22:53

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Hi Stuart

 

Looking forward to seeing your records of the area.  I am no moth expert but my guess is that it will be fine whatever yo do,, if you have to move it, try it on some Willowherb or Bedstraw.  Alternatively try and rear it your self taking cuttings from your bush.

 

Good info here: http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=60

 

Regards

Paul

 

 

Submitted by David Nicholls on Mon, 22/09/2014 - 19:59

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Hi Stuart,

It should be about ready to pupate now so I think you would be fine to leave it to finish feeding on the fuschia if you are happy to have it eaten! It will then move off in search of a suitable pupation site - usually burying itself in soil. As Paul suggests it should also eat Willowherb but if possible I'd just leave it.

Dave