An unexpected visitor!

This unexpected Common Marbled Carpet turned up last week (February 25th) in our sitting room. It was spotted by my husband, Steve, who doesn't purport to be a moth-er, but is always interested in what's around. Whether it's a very early or very late record is an interesting thought! There doesn't seem to be any reference to this species overwintering in the literature I've referred to, but whether the very mild weather could have played a part............?

To quote Peter W, "I can only come up with two suggestions – either the larva somehow crawled into your house, pupated and then emerged early in the warmth, or the other possibility is that it is just a very early 2014 emergence (over seven weeks earlier than the previous earliest record for the county), either way, it’s certainly a record breaker."

Thanks Peter - perhaps we'll never know?!