I felt quite paternal to the fragile little 'Laura Ashley' moth above, which fluttered out of the eggboxes when I took off the lid, perched on my palm and was very reluctant to move on. It's a Treble Brown-spot, a moth which I first met on holiday in Suffolk, then in central London and only finally here. My hand was useful for scale, as well as apparently cosy for the moth, and I have enlisted other parts of my body to show the snippety size of the next few moths, which might appear bigger than they are without some sort of comparison.
Apologies for the battered condition of my thumbs, partly through gardening (and maybe incessant anti-pandemic hand-washing) to the extent that my touch facility on the iPhone only works every now and then. I also like biting my nails, not through stress, but because scissors or nippers are such a faff. Anyway, I think our first micro here is a Variegated Golden Tortrix but I will need to check that with the untiring experts on the Upper Thames Moths blog.
Micro number two is another Tortrix but beyond hazarding a guess that it's one of the cnephasia lookalikes, I cannot yet enlighten you any further. Below, however, I do recognise the Large Fruit-tree Tortrix, Archips podana, which is a regular caller here. Update: The unfailing and patient Upper Thames Moths blog's expert Nigel has sorted things out: Hi Martin, regarding the micros you're correct on the first one, Archips xylosteana. The second is Aleimma loeflingiana. Very many thanks.
Back in the macro moth world, here is my first Blood-vein of 2020, a species aptly named. And lastly below it, that strange creature the Flame moth, like a miniature Buff-tip in its resemblance to a snapped twig or abandoned cheroot. That's it for now. We still hope for rain.
1 comment:
Have you not got any rain Martin? It has been bucketing it down here 24hours a day for the past 3 days and that is not an exaggeration!I trapped on the 9th and it started raining at 3am so I put an umbrella on the trap and went through it later, at my usual time of 4:30am. As shown on the Calderdale Moths blog it was a good catch. Moths like these warm humid nights at the moment but not when it's bucketing it down - they like drizzle to keeps their wings moist. As I said it has been raining 24 hours a day so the moths won't fly in that! The next time I can trap is when the rain lets up on Saturday night at 7 o clock. Rain from Tuesday 3am - Saturday 7pm
Sorry for ranting.
Stay safe, Edward.
Note: the plants are starting to get a little waterlogged now so I have to tend to that a lot. I wouldn't say gardening is that great in this weather but it's worth it. You still get the same tonic effect in snow Rain or sunshine after 8 years of doing it!
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