Tuesday 5 August 2014

Moths...

The title says it all, moths, moths and more moths.  After a week camping in Suffolk I'm hooked, it's like the seawatching of the insect world.  Certainly as addictive.
 I must have seen between 30-40 species, but with the way many moths are, I've only identified a mere handful, sixteen to be exact.  But quality over quantity as they say. On a single night there I managed to see two species of Hawkmoth, Poplar which I had seen before, and then the real gem, a Pine Hawkmoth, one of the largest insects I've ever seen.  Oddly I don't remember seeing any Pines nearby....
 Two bright lights can attract so much, these Hawkmoth's had a large entourage: Underwings, Prominents, Waves, Footman, Brimstones,  Satins...  Surely some of the best names going.  It does make you wonder how, and even why some of them got their names.  My favourite and yes, most likely the most ridiculous, is the Sallow Kitten.  Sallow meaning unhealthy in appearance, how very flattering.  Some were more understandable though, Lesser Yellow-Underwing's obvious enough.


                                                                Sallow Kitten


The thing which amazed me most was the extreme variation between species, even in such a small area.  The Poplar Hawkmoth, large and admittedly odd shaped, the bark like Pale Prominent, the T shaped Plume Moths, the glaringly bright White Satins, simply incredible.


Pale Prominent


I like moths.
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