There are many unsolved puzzles in the world of moths as readers of these musings, weary but ever-patient with my fumbling attempts to ID the many tricky species, well know. One of the simplest is illustrated above: in the morning, when I examine the eggboxes in my pyjamas, I am not the only interested party.
Our local birds, especially the robins and blackbirds, know exactly what is going on: they are with yards - inches sometimes in the case of the boldest robins - of the avian breakfast of all time. I do everything I can to protect the moths - scattering them into a wide range of bushes, up-ending the trap so that moths can exit but birds cannot get in, or putting it in our shed/greenhouse and shutting the door. This works in one way, by excluding the birds, but also imprisons the moths and risks the liveliest battering themselves silly against the windows as the day warms up.
And, as you can see from this snapshot, there are PLENTY of moths at the moment. It's the height of High Season. There must have been over 300 in the trap last night. So Moth Protection is a system under construction. I would welcome others' experience or bright ideas.
In the meanwhile, some nice arrivals: the year's first White Satin with its zebra stockings. It's very like the Yellowtail, apart from having no yellow tail, a feature which gives a vaguely fried egg appearance to the YT.
Next, a Plume micro; the Brown Plume, I think, though I am far from expert in the tiddlers. And then a nice contrast of Footman moths: first the Scarce Footman with its wings furled tightly like an umbrella. And then the Common Footman, more of the classic capsule shape which distinguishes most of this family.
And finally, a sweet little Small Fan-footed Wave, one of the most delicate of the 'Laura Ashley' Wave moths.
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