Saturday 26 July 2008

Vaguely scientific




A bit more time at last. No need to head off early. Saturday morning. Yo! So I've spent a lot more time than usual on the trap, which last night I moved to a small, shady area of woodland. There were 149 moths, plus some not-so-drowsy escapes. I will need a lot more time for identification, but they included Scalloped Oak, Early Thorn, Light Emerald, Mother of Pearl, Swallowtailed, Peppered, Common Footman, Brimstone, 36 Large Yellow Underwings, large numbers of Beauties, Carpets and Pugs and plenty of micros. I observed one instructive thing: when I tipped the eggboxes into the thickest foliage I could find, to keep off the birds, I watched one moth - one of the Wainscots - creep deliberately and with much concentration further and further into the roots. The survival instinct. Anyway, here are two of the smallest visitors: I'm pretty sure that this is a Green Carpet, although neither of my photos captures the lovely, subtle green. The other is an excellent metallic micro, but don't ask me any more than that.
PS We've just had breakfast outside in the sun and the green moth had found its way to the table and was snoozing contentedly there. I've had another look, after almost squashing it under my coffee mug, and decided that after all it's a Green Pug. Sorry.

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