Quiet times

There's supposed to be a warmer spell this coming week but so far hopes of an Indian Summer in the UK have gone the way of the rest of a below-average season all round. Wet and cold is how I will remember 2024 although we have had some stunning short periods of real warmth and the occasional brilliant day. Yesterday was one of them.

The clear sunny sky meant a cold night to follow, however, and the trap was thinly populated this morning. The best arrival was the very fresh Dark Marbled Carpet shown in my first picture, resting happily on the outside of the cowl. 

My other main moth in the last few days has been the Angle Shades, one of the species most commonly sent to me for ID because they seem easily-disturbed by day. This happened to me on a bike ride earlier this week when I brushed a hedge and an Angle Shades whizzed out before skulking back into the shadows - pic below.

Two days later, I was cycling along again when I noticed the moth's unmistakable fighter-plane shape on the tarmac just ahead. I managed to stop and gently lifted it on my finger to the safety of a bush. It had been raining gently and you can see the large raindrop illustrating the effectiveness of the waterproofing of the moth's wings.

Cousins on holiday in Spain have meanwhile had a more exciting time, thanks to their vigilant spotting of another triangular shape on a workaday litter bin. Can you see it in the top pic below? Move down, if not. The spotters are part of a great family network on WhatsApp called Insect Chat which is impressively successful at interesting a new generation in entomology and indeed wildlife of all kinds.

This is a Convolvulus Hawk, one of Europe's largest moths and a rarity in the UK.  By chance, my only encounter with one was at the wedding in Cornwall of another cousin from the same side of the family as the Spanish I-Spy team.  You can read more if you'd like to, here.