Unfair to women moths

I've just had an enjoyable but distracting visit to Newcastle, Peterlee and Durham - the last seen above from the train - so I'm a bit late with this brief addendum to my sudden early February post. It's partly to show you the lamp back in action after its long Christmas and New Year sleep - below - but also to express sympathy with the female Pale Brindled Beauty.

When I was identifying the moth on Monday morning, I read in my bible that 'the female is regularly found at the foot of tree trunks, just after dawn.' Since the trap was at the foot of an apple tree and it wasn't long after dawn that I was making my inspection, I initially thought: "Ah! So this is a female."

Then I consulted the picture in my bible and saw, as you can below, that a female is one thing that my moth definitely isn't. This species is one of about a dozen common UK moths where the woman gets a really bad deal. They are wingless. I mean, imagine being a moth and not being able to fly! What else do they have going for them, really?

I have had a preliminary, skimpy search on Google as to why this happens and why it is always the female, without success. My super-bible is also buried in stacks of books still awaiting shelves as we move closer to our first anniversary in our new home.  But patience is a virtue and I will return to this mystery when I can.