Special visitors..

How unusual,Sue.I've never seen these before either ..not very nice guests to make a meal of your favourite Fuchsia though ! Lol..I'm sure you didn't have the heart to move them..:o)

No they are safe Sandra, I just hope when the time comes for them to reveal themselves as moths, they don't try to show me their colours, I'm petrified of moths...

Lol! You are very generous Sue! Your favourite fuchsia sacrificed for baby Moths! I have never seen one either. I don’t think they come this far North....yet!

They are wonderful Lincslass! I only found the one and you have four on your fuschia. The fuschia will recover next year and the moths need all the help they can get.

Sadly one has fallen off during the night and didn't survive, I think I ought to carry the pot into the back garden and place it amongst all my planting for more protection....

I found a post on FB today of one in Perthshire...so they DO come this far north.

Hi Sue, Fuchsia is 1 of the favourite foods of the elephant hawk moth larvae, fortunately the moths only live on nectar, not foliage, so when they start to pupate, your plants will be ok, Derek.

Lucky you, only seen one once and it was enormous with a cute 'face' :-)

I've only ever seen this moth once on our balcony. I had never seen it before & so I took a few photos to look up later. I found it on Flickr, in a group dedicated to insects. I have never seen the caterpillars even though I am almost never without a couple of Fuchsias on the balcony.

I found an interesting article on this moth in Wikipedia:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deilephila_elpenor

Although one had dropped off and sadly I didn't find it in time, we are back to four again by teatime today, I keep checking out the other fuschia's but no others found, either in the other pots or the ones in the garden, they get quite a size, I have never seen anything like them before, good job I'd seen photographs and read up on them or I think I would have gone into a flat spin ...

its has been a good year for this moth. I have found over 20 this year. they also feed on Roseate willow herb and enchanters nightshade, of which I have lots in the garden.

Fancy finding them on the Fuchsia Sue ... they look ever so long!

Wow, lots of pics on Facebook of this one this year, I have never seen one in real life :-))

If I'm being honest they are beginning to freak me out, my own fault because I keep checking them out, and those bulbous eyes when you go near swell up, apparently they do that if they feel threatened, they don't know I'm more nervous than they are, lol..

Sue, that has made me smile!

I think I would be the same !!