This fluffy little fellow is a Yellowtail, named for reasons which would have been clear if I had been quicker off the mark. I had emptied the trap and came back to put the bulb and rainshield away, when I noticed the moth on the corner of the bulbholder. I'd overlooked it earlier.
Although otherwise polar bear-white, the Yellowtail has just that, a bright yellow tail which it was cheekily poking up into the air, a device to attract females, don't laugh. Alas, I had to go inside to get my camera and when I returned, the tail was hidden chastely beneath the wings. I tried to goad the moth into showing it again by tickling it with a clover stem; but instead, it took off and sought refuge in the hedge - the backdrop to the top photo.
I was delighted to see the micro, above, in the eggboxes. It is a male Ringed China-mark, a species which has only sent its much drabber female to me previously. they join the Brown China Mark and the Beautiful China Mark in my records; all very pretty moths which bear out E F Schumacher's legend: 'Small is beautiful'. Here are the rest of the gang, from previous posts:
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| Wow! The well-named Beautiful China Mark |
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| Also nice: the Brown China Mark |
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| Who drew the short straw? Mrs Ringed China Mark |
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