Spring fling

Spring has arrived in the UK and although it's the 69th I've seen - though I will remain a youthful 68 until 18 May - its pleasures still come as a pleasure and surprise. Top among them of course are the flowers which have suddenly appeared everywhere - the composite at the top le aves plenty out. It's been an additional bonus to help convert some of them into posies for Mothering Sunday (handed out along with slices of my latest superlight cream sponge cake - mouthwatering picture below).

The moth world, too, has shown how - for me at least - the seasons' passings are long enough to make me forget familiar arrivals. Maybe it's more the effect of age, but I was still delighted enough to breathe out "Nice moth!" to myself when I saw the first moth in the eggboxes below.

It is an Early Grey, a faithful annual arrival at this time in every one of the 13 years that I've run the moth trap - and frequently the subject of a quip from me about the delicious brand of tea which we mix with ordinary leaves for the morning cuppa which I'm shortly off to make. But it's so strikingly different from the mostly brown and grey brethren in the eggboxes at the moment (as in the second picture immediately above) that, like the primroses and chionodoxas, it still gives me a start and a lift.  So the season is now well under way.

The Early Grey was not the only beauty in the trap; there were also two Brindled Beauties, both males and one of them prepared to show off its beautiful antennae. Like my Earl Grey joke, my wish that human beings had these amazing organs has often been expressed here. I have occasionally attempted a little science too, trying to describe what we know about their purpose and the reasons for the wonderful variety.  I'm delighted to say that this has just been done far more thoroughly and interestingly by Tom Bedford, whose family took some of my Emperor Moth caterpillars last year and both photographed and reared them with great success.  You can enjoy his findings and photographs of antennae on his latest blog post here.

Finally, it is interesting to see how moths are relatively waterproof. The Hebrew Character above was asleep in its small puddle at the bottom of the trap (even Mr and Mrs Robinson's wonderful rain shield isn't 100 percent effective). It seemed unfazed and woke up in an equable mood before creeping under an eggbox to a dryer spot.  More Hebrew Characters appear below, along with a Small Quaker and a Clouded Drab.