Phalera bucephala
Or buff-tip—
a heavy-bodied moth
with grey forewings
and a prominent buffpatch
at the apex : its hindwings
are creamy white
but its thoracic hair
is buff too
A night errant
it rides the June or July skies
and is pulled but not driven
to the light
At rest it resembles
a broken twig :
the deadly laburnam
is its favoured foodplant
John Lyons