Thursday 7 August 2008

May the Moth be with you


Here's a Pebble Hooktip which arrived a couple of days ago, when it wasn't raining. Hooktips remind me of the spaceships which zoomed around in pursuit of the goodies in Star Wars. I've added a picture of Luke Skywalker as a result - thank you www.theforce.net. Like my bus (several entries below with the Great Atlas), it's not to scale. You'd think that the wing shape had something to do with the moth's flying skills. I did anyway. But experts believe it's evolved because it helps to disguise the Hooktip by making it very like a dried-up, curling, dead leaf. This theory has support from the only one of the six British members of the family whose wings are not hooked. It's called the Chinese Character and predators avoid it because it uncannily resembles a bird dropping. Btw, the 'pebble' in the moth's name is the smudgy spot on the forewing.

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