Zebra legs

I am always being rude about 'yellow underwing' moths, so today I shall make amends. They are very trying, because they come to the trap in such large numbers. I would never be a good scientist, because such a mass of data overwhelms and, I'm afraid, bores me. A Darwin or Wallace would work patiently through them, delighted to have so much evidence. And without a lot of evidence, scientific theories can unravel. It is interesting how many concepts, especially those seized upon by journalists, turn out to be based on very small samples.

Anyway, after that portentous introduction, here at the top is one of the most handsome of the tribe (which has at least eight members): the Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing. Apart from its bold patterning, which comes replete with a mop of head hair on specimens less life-worn than this one, look at those fine zebra-crossing legs. Legs decorated in the manner of woollen stockings are quite common in moths and it's easy to overlook them in the initial disappointment that the wings are dull and brown.

Also visiting: this Red-green Carpet (I think and hope; I've had problems before in distinguishing it from the July Highflyer).  Regular readers know about my weakness for green moths, in the almost complete absence of blue ones, a mysterious gap about which I've speculated in the past. It must be something to do with the role of light in insect wing colouring, but I still remain in the dark, like a moth.