Overnight temperatures back to normal, minimum last night 10.8C. A lot of moths in the trap but certainly it was more quantity than quality. There were 137 moths of 25 species present, 6 new for the year after eventually identifying a micro moth as
Gypsonoma dealbana. The others were a
Flax Tortrix and four larger species, a bit larger with
Willow Beauty, several
The Clay,
Common Footman and
The Drinker.
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The Drinker - named after it's caterpillar's likeness for dew but
to me, they always seem a bit of a biffer who likes a pint or two. |
Considering 99 moths were one of three species Heart & Dart (41), Garden Grass Veneer (31) and Dark Arches (27). I've only had a few Drinkers and there were 5 Common Footman present which was a good count for the garden so quite a fair night overall.
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The Clay - one of the Wainscots - the male
has a triangular area of black hair on the underside of it's abdomen |
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Common Footman - five were caught last night,. They get their
name apparently, because they fold their wings straight
back like a liveried servant standing to attention or two.
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Late this afternoon, a
Ringlet was in the garden, though briefly. Nearby a
Speckled Wood and a
Grey Squirrel were seen.
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Grey Squirrel - Still a timid creature around here |
Interesting names!
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are - most are 18th century names chosen by the early lepidopterists. Before then, no-one had bothered to put names to moth species so most got their names around about the same time.
ReplyDelete