Catching Up

 

I have always enjoyed the oddities of housing dozy moths in eggboxes, which rather resemble Eton Fives courts in their collection of peculiar angles.  (Fives is another of my past-times, in spite of my increasing age).  I have seen all sorts of peculiar configurations of box and moth and the nose-dived Large Yellow Underwing, viewed from each main point of the compass in my pictures, is a worthy addition to the list.

Another of my catch-up photos following a run of rather ordinary nights (hornet peril apart) shows two Plume moths with their curious T-shape caused by tightly-furled wings). They looked different to my eyes, chiefly because The one on the left was beige-ish and the other pale grey. But they may both be the familioar Common Plume. I will see if Upper Thames Moths on Facebook can help. 

Here's a spider for a change, spotted by Penny while we were sipping capuccinos in the garden of Gail's coffee bar in Summertwon. Did you know that the Liberals apparently targeted every constituency with a Gail's in their very successful camnpaign in the last General Election.  Our constituency, Bicester and Woodstock, went Liberal from Tory to our great delight. But it doesn't have a Gail's.  Ah, ha, said friends; that's because you all go to the one in Summertown. And this is true. 

Butterflies next. Summer may be drawing to an end but there are plenty about including the glorious Red Admirals like this one, and Peacocks. 

I am keeping a vague eye out for the UK's newest butterfly species, the Southern Small White, but it is so tediously similar to the very ordinary (and annoying to vegetable-growers like myself) Small White, that I'm not trying too hard.  I think that these two victims of our greenhouse's heat on a sunny day are both Small Whites.  The Red Admiral was also in the greenhouse but had the nouse to sense a breeze from the ventilator roof windows and escape.

Lastly on the greenhouse theme, here's a Meadow Brown which had the equally good sense to stay outside. Only its reflection appears to be indoors.  Following below it, a Small Heath on a country walk near Minster Lovell's marvellously atmospheric ruins.

More moths: here's a delicate and very pale-ly marked Single-dotted Wave followed by a Small Mother of Pearl which Penny found dead in our bedroom, coincidentally just as I was reading my account in this blog of realising that this micro species is different from the standard and very common Mother of Pearl and belatedly adding it to my new arrivals list.

A quartet next - top left to bottom right: Dusky Thorn, Angle Shades (soon afterwards sadly grabbed by a Robin when my attention was briefly diverted by a hornet), a micro needing ID and another very pale Single-dotted Wave.

Above we have a Knot Grass cateroillar discovered by my daughter-in-law on one of her hollyhocks and below another quartet: Latticed Heath, a pair of Angle Shades, a Tawny Speckled Pug and a Treble-bar unusally showing its slightly yellow hindwings.

Then four more (like T S Eliot, we have Four Quartets in this post): A Bordered Beauty,  Square-spot,  Common Plume (I think) and Hebrew Character.

And to finish with: another Hebrew Character, a Flounced Rustic,  a Willow Beauty and another mystery, though it shouldn't be at my age. Upper Thames Moths, here I come.