There are more than 870 species of large moth (known as macro moths) in the UK, many of which can be tricky for beginners to tell apart. But there are a few commonly-encountered species that are perfect for practising your ID skills on. Get to know some of the UK's most familiar and easily-identified moths with our quick guide.

The death's-head hawk-moth is the largest moth to be found in the UK, with a whopping wingspan of around 120 millimetres. It is an immigrant from southern Europe, usually arriving in late summer or autumn. Small numbers are recorded each year, with occasional influxes producing dozens of records.

Codling moth is a moth in the family Tortricidae, there are around 400 species of moths in this family in Britain. Most cause no noticeable damage to garden plants. Codling moth is a species with caterpillars that bore into the fruits of apple and pear trees during mid to late summer.

Hawk-moths are some of the largest moths in the UK. Learn to tell which is which with our visual guide to 10 of the most commonly encountered species.