The future is orange

I was wistfully discussing the first signs of autumn the other day in Comments with my invaluable expert Ben Sale, and he raised the consolation of the imminent coming of the Sallow moths which fly in the UK from late August.

Bingo! here is my first of the year, a Centre-barred Sallow making its debut in a blaze of orange, as sulphurous as the Canary-shouldered Thorn which featured here two days ago.

This is a notably retiring moth in youth, when its caterpillars start life hidden in the unfurled leaf buds of ash trees, moving to a crevice at the base of the trunk as toddlers and - in the words of my Moth Bible -'climbing very quickly just before dusk to feed during the night'. They then tuck themselves away in an underground cocoon before leading an equally clandestine life as an adult insect, seldom visiting flowers or moth enthusiasts' rum-and-treacle 'sugaring' and only really attracted (or maybe disorientated) by a moth trap light such as mine.

This one was co-operative in a photo session, however, before powering off into the branches of a plum tree (hence the wing blur in the second picture, for which many apologies; the moth took off seconds later). I also append a small pic of a Spectacle Moth which was sleeping on the light cable at the top of the trap, because I can't resist them.