I MUST argue with Chris Lloyd about the hawkmoth reportedly found by David Bellamy at the Middleton St George airfield (Echo, Jun 20).

Is really claimed that a hawkmoth brought back from the Alps in 1945 or earlier is still breeding on the airfield some 55 years and generations later?

There must have been a misunderstanding of what David Bellamy said. There are at least five species of hawkmoth breeding regularly in Cleveland: the Poplar Hawkmoth, Lime Hawkmoth, Elephant Hawkmoth, Small Elephant Hawkmoth and the Eyed Hawkmoth.

Eric Gendle, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.