Birthday moths

The moths always come good for Penny's birthday and this year has been no exception. I was specially pleased to welcome this Green Silver-lines, green being one of my favourite colours (after blue) and a relatively rare one among moths (blue being almost non-existent in their twilit world).

Green is also a colour which fades very quickly in moths, just as red is usually the first to go in the everyday world. This lovely Light Emerald is another example; within a month it will be closer to grey. (Update: thanks very much to Edward in Comments who corrects these to Scarce Silver Lines and Small Emerald - read more in my next post, but thanks E).

Another green insect,  but one which won't fade so fast, came scuttling past outside our house later in the day, this juvenile Green Shield Bug. To anyone of my generation, 'Green Shield" means a saving stamp which you got with petrol and which, after dozens of fill-ups, finally won you a saucepan or something similar.  By happy chance, the same day saw an adult Red-legged Shield Bug visit the trap alongside the moths.

Other guests in the eggboxes included the UK's largest caddis fly, Phryganea grandis, which is quite an impressive sight. Caddises are fascinating craetures which appear in the moth trap regularly. Their larvae are aquatic and build little cases to protect tjemselves as they move around. A French artist, Hubert Duprat has turned this to good account by providing them with small grains of gold and other precious metals which they then work into their cases with dramatic effect - pic left.

Observe my finger for scale

Further moths in the eggboxes meanwhile included - below - a Yellow Straw (Update: Yellow Shell.  Apols and thanks to Edward again), couple of Dusky Thorns, a Purple Thorn (Update: no, Edward corrects again to a second generation Early Thorn. Thanks again too), a Drinker and Pale Prominent hanging out with a Common/Lesser Common Rustic, three Mother of Pearls like a Spitfire wing and a nice little pug which I will identify in due course.

It was also good to have a strong birthday showing of Ruby Tigers, all happy to be photographed (they are often rather fidgety) and one of them showing much more of its scarlet knickers than they are generally disposed to do.