Wednesday 17 August 2016

The Moses moth

No doubt you remember the story of Moses in the bulrushes. Had there been an entomologist involved in the Scriptures, he or she might have added a little colour about today's moth.
It's a Bulrush Wainscot, one that I haven't had here before although it's not uncommon, especially in places with plenty of bulrushes. We have fine clumps of them on the canal.


The Bulrush Wainscot is a chunky moth, much bigger than the Common Wainscot and its immediate relatives which are quite frequent guests here. It also has a fine dusting of spots and streaks.




The most interesting thing about it, however, is the way that its caterpillars burrow into a bulrush stem, bore along like a small Tube train and then make the stalk their home, a home provided with free food in the form of the walls and a snug place for pupating when the time comes. The excellent pictures below are from the Moth Bible


I'm minded to add a verse to the Bible - the real one, not the mothy version - to incorporate one of these in the Moses story; perhaps a talking one which could advise the floating baby when there was danger from Pharoah's men.

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