Found this , sadly dead, outside the back door. Looked it up and apparently its a kind of Hawk Moth . Quite a big creature at 4" across. Not seen one close up before. You cant see the under wings when they are alive.
Looks like an Eyed Hawk Moth to me:
http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?bf=1980I used to repair the butterfly and moth collections at Liverpool Museum btw.
What a beautiful creature. I know quite a few butterflies, but not many moths at all. I did have an Old Lady moth on my buddleia recently, though - I managed to ID it from a picture in one of my books.
Ah, thanks philcsh. Must have been so interesting working there. I spent a fascinating few visits in the taxidermy dept 10yrs or more ago,learning from James Jackson how to prepare animal skulls for research! The behind the scenes skills were amazing.
Aw, what a shame. So beautiful! Thanks for sharing the photo.