Monday 8 January 2018

First of the year


Happy New Year, belatedly. The moth trap remains closed-down and I am slowly working through my records in an armchair by the fire. But moths are still about and the lights of our porch are a modest beacon for them

Here, with apologies for the blurring, is the first of 2018: predictably a Winter Moth about whose remarkable 'anti-freeze' life system you can read more here in a blog post which also marked the first moth of a new year, and decade, in 2011.

Today's moth came on a chilly night and if you have time to click the link, you will see how the species copes with such apparently unfriendly conditions.

2 comments:

James P. said...

Glad to find your blog. My husband is going to love it. He was lucky enough to collect in Panama and Honduras outside the U.S. He lived in Hillingdon, UK as a young teen while his father was stationed at South Ruislip AFB, but don't know whether he was collecting yet! His interests were/are pyrginae and nymphalidae.......Ginny F., Fairfax, Virginia, USA

Martin Wainwright said...

Hi there Ginny and MANY apologies for the delay in replying. The blog is wrapped up for the winter at the moment and I'm seldom visiting it. Normal life will start again in March or April. Meanwhile I'm trying - not terribly successfully so far - to find time to bring my records up to date. Your husband was indeed lucky to be in Panama and Honduras - wonderful places for butterfly and moth enthusiasts. Our oldest won worked in Mexico for a time and thoughtfully took my wife Penny and myself to see the Monarchs up in Michoachan and I was thrilled to see what we call a Camberwell Beauty on the canals at Xochimilco. Hillingdon would have been a bit less interesting, at least in insect terms! Do keep in touch - and I'll hope over to your blogspot if you have one

all warm wishes

Martin