Moths & Weather.

I was waiting for the boat the other day and I picked up this moth (above) flying in off the sea. I was surprised when it landed on the sofa next me. I only had my iPhone with me and so this photo was the best I could do. Now, I know nothing about moths at all and have no book to hand on the island and so I sent this shot to both Andy A and Lee D of which both agreed on the same ID. Below is the reply from Lee D

Very nice moth mate and great picture! You're right, your moth is a hawkmoth (family: Sphingidae). I'm not familiar with Asian hawks but the following features are distinctive:

• Blackish markings with white border on the abdomen (segment no. A6 - 4th segment from the end)
• Small blackish spot near base of each forewing, and four blackish circles with whitish border on the forewings - 3 grouped together and another on leading edge of forewings (caled the costa)
• Blackish markings on the thorax
• Black and white edge on outer margin of hindwings
• Pale spot on the discal area of forewings (about half way 

The species is Ambulyx subocellata (I don't think it has an English name) and the antennae point to it being a female but I'm not certain (females usually have thin rod-like antennae and males feather-like antennae, but not always) thorax to wing tips)

So there you have it, a big thanks to Lee D and Andy for their help with identifying the moth, maybe I will start looking at these a bit more now, who knows....

The weather has been nice for the previous week with long sunny warm days but the sea remains rough with large swells and waves on the eastern side of the island. Above shows the western / sheltered side of the island and below shows the sunsetting over the mainland.