Moth Magic - 6th April 2026

Sally and myself have a thing about Emperor Moths, Britain's only representative of the silk moth family, so much so that both of us have invested  in a pheremone lure, a tiny little  rubber bung that dispenses the irrisistible scent of a female on the air currents around our gardens.This can be picked up by the males from quite some distance and lures them in under false pretences.

April and May is the prime time to look for the day flying male moths. The female lies low during the day and flies at night. Although widespread throughout Britain they are never very common and you hardly ever see one unless luring it by deception and then it is usually only the males that respond.

Not that I am complaining as the males are sensationally adorned with four huge black eyes, one on each wing which act as a predator (birds) deterrent..The hind wings are a striking deep orange with a brown and rose pink border while the upper wings are patterned grey and white. The appearance is immensely attractive, even exotic.

Emperor Moths are large and satisfyingly chunky. Males are smaller than females being 60mm in diameter while females are a larger 80mm and differ from males by being predominantly coloured grey and white but again possess four prominent eye spots on their wings and unlike the male do not have feathered antennae  

My garden in a rural Oxfordshire village has yet to attact an Emperor but Sally in a slightly more urban setting has had remarkable success in her front garden not far from the busy A40 near Oxford. Emperor Moths like predominantly moorland, grassland scrub, heathland, hedgerows and field margins and have a large number of larval foodplants to choose from although the most favoured is heather.

Thus it came about on a sunny Saturday after meeting at Farmoor Reservoir that we agreed, on getting back to our respective homes around lunch time, we would put our lures out and await results. Sally won of course and called me to advise she had three, yes three males no less, fluttering around her lure.

They never settle but fly continuously, even one can say, frantically around the lure, fired by the desire to mate, so in order to pacify them for a photo it is necessary to catch one, in a plastic container, then cool it down in a fridge for ten minutes so it becomes comatose This does no harm to the moth but renders it inactive for five or so minutes before it warms up and recommences flying around. 

I drove over to Sally's house and there were two moths still careering around the lure by her front door with the third, courtesy of Sally having already been ensconced in her fridge awaiting my arrival.

Gingerly I took it outside and placed a finger under its legs and it clung on so I was able to transfer it to a small tree trunk for its impromptu photoshoot.Obviously newly emerged it was in prime condition.

For a few precious minutes it remained quiescent  and I got my photos as it clung to the thin trunk but normal service was rapidly resumed as the sun warmed the moth and it soon took to the air.

After a few exploratory flights around the lure it obviously sensed the subterfuge and departed.

Of the other two males, we never saw them depart and no more Emperor Moths came afterwards but it had only needed one!