Ordinary guys (and gals)

It's easy but not really excusable to overlook the common, everyday moths which visit the trap at this time of year. Here are some of them.

I can't count how many Mother of Pearl micros come every night at the moment. But I am sorry as they flutter away - they are very easily disturbed - because each one has the lovely sheen which gives it its name; the same iridescence which you find in sea shells.

The Large Yellow Underwing is another humdrum caller. I have even watched a blackbird eat one with equanimity although that was in Leeds where the LYU came in hordes. I'm featuring this one, though, because I don't recall seeing one of this 'dark' strain with such bright, prominent wing spots. Maybe it is a form which is a little less common than the norm.

Six Poplar Hawk Moths in the trap last night signals another phenomenon of this moth-cluttered month: the second generation. These two Pebble Prominents are in much too good a condition to have been flying since May. Welcome, young moths!