Sticky end

Continuing the adventures of a moth examiner temporarily without a moth trap - awaiting new bulb - here is a sad sight from our greenhouse. We have a small forest of insect-eating plants which always fascinate young visitors (and many older ones too). Alas, a small white wave of some kind was fatally drawn to the alluring, nectar-secreteing fronds. Gulp.

Pitcher plants and Venus flytraps make excellent presents in my experience and luckily our local garden centre keeps a good stock of them. There is something fascinating about the way they operate as well as the extraordinary fact that a plant can get the upper hand over an animal; something otherwise achieved only through poison (or, in the case of a tree, falling down on top of you).

Back to my residue of moths: here is a Small Scallop followed by a Yellowtail bristling its anetennae at my unrewarded attempt to get it to flash its yellow tail. Then comes that delightful regular the Ruby Tiger. I expect these to be a feature of the eggboxes for a month at least, once I am up and running again. And fourthly, the curious little Chinese Character moth, aka the Bird Dropping. Sorry that the picture of it is a bit smudged but you can just make out the silvery, glinting and vaguely Oriental mark which gives the moth its name.

Finally for today, a new micro for my garden list, Ethmia dodecea, which shares the spotted pattern of the frequent ermine micros but is much more seldom found.