There was a big WOW factor at Croft Close Set Aside on the last Saturday in June 2022. Children and adults alike were enchanted by the fantastic range of moths on show. Even more exciting was the opportunity to carefully handle some of the magnificent creatures which had been trapped at Croft Close overnight.

But what was the best? The Elephant Hawk-moth with its salmon-pink trim or the massive Privet Hawk-moth with it’s 55mm forewing (not much shorter than a wren’s wing) and imposing, striped abdomen? Or the Lunar Hornet Moth which came to our pheromone trap, indistinguishable at first sight from a wasp – an excellent example of using disguise to warn off potential predators.

And if the large array of magnificent moths was not enough, our bug safari got up close with some of the creatures which inhabit Croft Close’s grassland. Crickets, with their long curving antennae and grasshoppers (stubby antennae, by contrast), brown and green, predominated over other bugs found – though the colours of some of the latter were a treat.

Many thanks go to Ness Amaral-Rogers, Malcolm Ausden and Ian Ellis for putting on such an intriguing display, up close, of creatures we rarely see and thanks too to all our other helpers who helped make the day a success.

You can see a selection of the wonderful photographs of moths taken at the event here.