Herald

Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix)

Mike trotted downstairs last night to get a "spider jar" from the kitchen. But when he returned, the jar contained a moth rather than a spider – a Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix), which the field guides call "unmistakable". The burnt-looking edge to the scalloped forewing, the white crosslines and the overall pinky-purple tinge are certainly distinctive, as are those orange blotches. This is a female; a male would have feathered antennae. I'm not sure exactly what the moth is supposed to herald. In most of the UK, there is only a single generation, which lives for most of the year. Adults hibernate overwinter in some sheltered location (cave, tree trunk, outbuilding, etc.), emerging in the spring to mate. The female lays her eggs on willows, aspens and poplars, and the larvae develop from May to July. When they're ready to pupate, they build a cocoon between two leaves. Adults emerge in August and fly until November, when they go into hibernation, and the cycle starts again.

Heralds are common and widespread residents across much of the UK, though they're localised and limited primarily to the lowlands in Scotland. They range across a variety of habitats: pretty much anywhere their foodplants occur. Now that the termperatures are dropping into single digits, this is probably one of the last moths we'll see this year. It's certainly a handsome one!