Leopard and Drinker

My title this morning sounds like one of those odd English pub names you come across which are sometimes genuine but sometimes artificially created as deliberately quaint. It refers, however, to two excellently distinctive moths which have graced the trap in the last couple of nights.

The female Drinker is a curious beast indeed, here being admired by Elfrida, our only statue who supervises a corner of our garden with imperturbable calm. I have loved this moth for many years, since pre-teen school days when we found their caterpillars sipping dew from the top of grass stalks, a habit which gives the species its name.  The caterpillars are very fine creatures too, with a coat resembling Little Lord Fauntleroy's blue velvet. The male moth is smaller, like one of the hubbies in Bamforth seaside postcards.

The origin of the Leopard's name is obvious. It is a strange moth, large and flimsy like one of the early biplanes. It has something of the wasp about it too. And on that score, my final picture shows a waspish creature which likes making underground nests in gaps on our patio.

Here are the wasps - the first one definitely has the look of one of those emojis which sprinkle the children and grandchildren's messages these days.