Breathtaking Beauty

Last night I saw an improbably beautiful creature on my kitchen window. It was a small moth with feathery wings and legs that imitated the veins on a leaf. I couldn't get a good shot because of its small size and the darkness outside, but I was able to get a picture from the internet after looking it up in oe of my nature books. Apparently its larvae feed on bindweed. Never have I been so glad to have an untidy garden.

This is the information that came with the internet picture:

White Plume Moth Pterophorus pentadactyla
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Wingspan 26-34 mm.

Probably the most distinctive of the 'Plume' moths, and one of the largest. Its wings are deeply divided into several 'fingers', each of which is finely feathered, or plumed.

Quite common over much of Britain, inhabiting dry grassland, waste ground and gardens.

The adults fly from dusk onwards in June and July, and sometimes have a second generation in September.
The caterpillars overwinter and feed on bindweed (Convolvulus).

Mmm. Convolvulus dies back in winter...