Things have been busy in the Emperor Moth Nursery which my friends up the road have temporarily handed back to my care while they go away for an Easter break. A nice female hatched just before they left and they and I have tried our hands at Assembling - the practice of using her and her powerful pheromones as a lure for male suitors which has worked very impressively here in the past as you can see on this link here.
It may have worked this time; it usually does, because the scent mechanism is so powerful and can attract males from over a mile away. But if so, it wasn't during times when we were monitoring proceedings. First my friends tried, then I did here, then we took the moth to the other grandparents in Dorridge. On each occasion, she inspired admiration and interest from other members of our respective families, but no excited male Emperors put in an appearance. It may be that she was successfully impregnated early on, a process which ends the pheromone lure. We will never know, because she took off during her last night here. I hope that she has laid a clucth of eggs on a hawthorn nearby.
Meanwhile, a succession of cold nights kept arrivals at the light trap to a predictable minimum, Below, you can see a Hebrew Character, an Early Grey and a Powdered Quaker. In the meantime, we have been away for a wonderful week of bright sunshine in the English Lake District and the nights have become much warmer. I am now off to put the trap out for the first time in a week, with high hopes of some more interesting guests.
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