Twig mimic

This marvelous creature is a Buff-tip — a moth that mimics the end of a broken birch twig. It's an amazingly effective camouflage, even if we humans do happen to notice the furry little feet. We've pulled a few from our moth trap this summer, and it's a treat every time. (We've run our lighted trap overnight several times this summer; the light sits over a box with a clear top that traps the moths inside until we have the chance to examine them. We release what we've caught without harming them.) The Buff-tip is a common and widespread species here in Britain, found in hedgerows, parks, gardens and woods. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of lime, birch, hazel and willow; we only have one willow in the garden, and thus probably won't be finding too many caterpillars. Adults fly from late May through July, so we may not be seeing too many more adults this year either!