Thursday, 30 June 2011

Footmen & Drinkers

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.

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.

The Clay - one of the Wainscots - the male
has a triangular area of black hair on the underside of it's abdomen

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.

Late this afternoon, a Ringlet was in the garden, though briefly. Nearby a Speckled Wood and a Grey Squirrel were seen.

Grey Squirrel - Still a timid creature around here

2 comments:

  1. They 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.

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