Saturday 10 July 2010

Crinkly bottom


I mentioned the Small Angle Shades the other day, and the fact that its habit of folding or crinkling its wings when at rest seems to be the only thing it has in common with the larger Angle Shades. My photograph didn't really show this, alas, but luckily a very handsome Small Angle Shades arrived last night and obligingly posed to illustrate the point (above). The blue in the other picture is also satisfactorily fine. It is incredibly warm at the moment and some of the moths are extra comatose. I wonder if anyone has studied the relative sleepiness of species. Yellow underwings and Emeralds seem to belong to the moth equivalent of the Wide Awake Club which my children watched on TV years ago. They are only too keen to fly away when I start checking the egg boxes. Peppered Moths and the Hawks (a long-surviving Poplar today) are by contrast almost impossible to wake. All different, just like human beings. I'm an early morning person. Penny, emphatically not.

2 comments:

Bennyboymothman said...

Great photo shoot, after 4 years this one still eludes me despite trapping in 8 locations and regularly 4-5 times a week! cunning little blighter.
Is this your first?

MartinWainwright said...

Hi Ben

I'll check my records but I'm afraid that I think we've had the Small Angle Shades ever since the light was fist switched on - in 2005. Maybe it's happier in the North, like me. I'm sorry it's not come your way yet. If another arrives here, which is highly probable, I will show it the way to Essex.

All v best

M