A brown (and grey) moth in a green shade

Lots of moths in the trap last night but nothing out of the ordinary. Except that as I decanted them - about 25 Common Quakers, 20 Small Quakers, 15 Clouded Drabs, five Hebrew Characters and a Satellite - I thought to myself: be fair. They aren't really 'ordinary' at all.

I'll prove the point, I hope, with these two pictures of 'small, dull' moths which show how lovely their patterning is, however low-key the background colour and overall effect. Both have helped by settling on areas of green which help to show off their modest beauty. Above is a Common Quaker and below a Clouded Drab - the dark moth on the right - with a Small Quaker keeping it company. You can click on the pics to make them bigger and study the delicate patterns in more detail.

Tomorrow: an international revelation... (This is the blog's first ever Charles Dickens-like teaser between instalments.)