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After dark · Butterflies and moths
Large yellow underwing
Noctua pronuba
A brown moth, like a strip of bark at rest, that flashes bright orange-yellow hindwings when it flies.
- Size
- Wingspan about 5cm
- Look for them
- June to October
- Where
- Gardens, fields and hedges everywhere, and often indoors
My spotter's list
Circle your lamp, bumping into the light. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about moths
FlashA flash, then gone
A bird chasing the yellow flash loses the moth the moment it lands and covers the colour.
CommonOne of our commonest
On a warm August night a single light can attract dozens.
LightWhy moths come to light
Moths keep their backs to the brightest thing, which at night should be the sky. A lamp makes them circle and tumble.
YoungThe cutworm
The fat green or brown caterpillar hides in the soil by day and chews through stems at ground level at night.
EarsIt can hear bats
It has ears on the sides of its body, tuned to a bat's squeaks, and drops out of the air when it hears one.
TravelA traveller
Our own are joined each year by great numbers flying in from mainland Europe.
The real thing
Photos of moths
Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
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Out and aboutHow to spot them
Leave an outside light on for ten minutes on a warm summer night, or check under the porch lamp in the morning.
Lend a handHow to help
Moths pollinate flowers at night and feed bats and birds. Fewer lights and more plants are what they need.
Following youLadybird
Who should follow you?
The garden
Meadow and hedgerow
Pond and stream bugs live on their own page: choosing one takes you there.
Pond and stream
The log pile
After dark
Bugs from other parts of the world live on their own pages: choose another.
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