From Dawn to Dusky!

Of course the trap is on from Dusk to Dawn, but in the trap this morning was a Dusky Thorn - new  to the Strettons Moth List, which is another new feature of our blog, thanks to Mike. 


Dusky Thorn

As in Mikes photo of the Feathered Thorn, this moth is also a male and has the large, feathered antennae.

















Whilst searching the garden for larvae this afternoon, I managed to catch a Beautiful Plume moth. Mike put up a photo of the underside of one in his porch the other day, but here is a full frontal view.

There are around 40 different Plume moths in the UK which characteristically hold their wings out at right angles to the body and most of them are easy to identify.

Beautiful Plume

Snippets

Not much time to get the moth trap out this weekend, but I still managed to find a couple of things of interest. On Saturday night I rescued this curious insect from inside the house.

Beautiful Plume

This is actually a moth, or more accurately one of the 'micro' moths. It is part of a family called the Pterophoridae, though this is helpfully given the more manageable name of Plume Moths. These moths are distinctive in holding their wings at right angles, and this one is called a Beautiful Plume.

A walk this afternoon up Batch Valley found another interesting creature. This dark caterpillar (or more accurately 'larva') with a red line in fact turns into a beautiful white moth called a White Ermine. These will not be on the wing until May, and this larva will over winter in a cocoon in plant debris. If we find a adult of this stunning moth we will be sure to post a picture.

White Ermine Larva