At the top is a Ringlet, a modestly darkish butterfly from above but with these lovely eyes on constant guard below. I was in a garden infested with its commoner relative the Meadow Brown but these were much too skittish and clever for me to get a picture which was anything more than a russet and brown blur. I had better luck with the Small White, foe of cabbage-growers, above.
Back in Oxfordshire this morning, the light trap was full of bounty, with five Burnet moths on the outside of the cover alone, two Privet Hawks and two Elephant Hawks inside, six Peppered Moths (none melanic) and these two lovely firsts for the season (both familiar in Leeds in previous years).
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| The neighbour is a Small Magpie micro |
The first is a Swallowtail, whose colouring varies from the pale lemon caught here to a fuller, more brimstone-like glow which I will pursue if any more arrive. The second is one of my all-time favourites, the Peach Blossom whose colours seen close-up are subtle indeed. Sorry that the final picture of it below is a bit blurry but it was preparing for take-off. There was much more, which I will try to sort out over the weekend. Hope that yours is nice and sunny too.
1 comment:
That peach blossom moth is beautiful in such a stylish girly way. I recently told a young woman that I used to work as an entomologist, and she gave me an odd look, almost on the verge of disgust. If only I could have shown her this moth.
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