A firm favourite, since my interest in moths took over my life, arrived at the trap last night - this stunning Herald. A first for me after missing one at work a couple of years ago. It was resting on the shed wall, and was one of those "be careful while getting very excited about potting it up" moments (I realise that is quite a niche moment of excitement, in general circles, but I feel I'm among friends here!)
This March Moth is new for 2012. I caught 5 of these boys last year, all in March so it has a very accurate name. They have this fabulous way of rolling the wings tightly around their body when they come to rest. The photo, regretably, doesn't show this moth off to it's greatest potential. It has some very subtle patterning with white flashes at the ends of the wings, and delicate creamy undergarments.
And finally we come to this little teaser! It's either my 3rd Chestnut or my 1st Dark Chestnut. Which one is your money on? It's being investigated my the helpful people at Back Garden Moths, so hopefully there'll be an answer soon, although I suspect it may be one of those 'cut his bits off' jobs, and we'll never know for sure.Trap contents were 14 in total, the second highest so far this year. Adding to the total were the second Twin-spotted Quaker for the year, Double-striped Pug (getting quite regular now), and 4 x Early Grey, plus the usual Orthosia. Still no Quakers though. What's happened to them all? Maybe the weather is too warm for them. Is that possible?
Moth Yearlist = 20
Well done on the Herald - a beautiful moth and one which would be a new tick for me too if I was lucky enough to see one! Quaker numbers are low in my trap too.
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