But surely you can appreciate the unique... beauty of the male Drinker moth?
The Drinker. The ALF of the moth world.
It was clear last night and so a bit colder than it has been. I had to put on a fleece when I went outside to attend to the trap (at about 5am). We had our lowest number of Privet Hawkmoths yet - 'only' two!
Privet Hawkmoth
Eyed Hawkmoth
Elephant Hawkmoth numbers were up, to 9
Top of the Moth Pops:
- Dark Arches, 42
- Common Footman, 31
- The Rustic, 16
- Common Wainscot, 15
- Uncertain, 13
- Elephant Hawkmoth, 9
- Light Arches, 4
- Willow Beauty, 4
- Heart & Dart, 3
- Riband Wave, 3
- The Flame, 3
- Barred Straw, 2
- Burnished Brass, 2 (of which 1 was eaten by a spider)
- Clouded Silver, 2
- Privet Hawkmoth, 'only' 2!
- Snout, 2
- The Drinker, 2
- Yellow-tail, 2
And one each of:
- Barred Yellow
- Bright-line Brown-eye
- Clay
- Common Rustic
- Coxcomb Prominent
- Double Square-spot
- Eyed Hawkmoth
- Marbled Minor
- Peppered Moth
- Setaceous Hebrew Character
- Spectacle, 1
The moths are beautiful! Keep them coming. How do you keep them still?
ReplyDeleteSuperb set of moth images. Hawkmoths really are impressive creatures.
ReplyDeleteStunning moths, stunning photography Katie.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments! I can't get enough of hawkmoths...
ReplyDeleteThe big ones are fairly docile (they need a bit more heat to get going), but the smaller moths are more prone to flying away.
By the time I open the trap in the morning and count and identify as much as possible, many of the moths have been chilling out amongst the eggboxes for a few hours.
If you really want a photo and the moth is too frisky, you can always pop it in the fridge for a few hours and that seems to calm them down :o)
It's fine as long as you don't forget about them amongst the yogurts and veg.
Beautiful furry critters! Thanks for sharing the photos. The Drinker's antennae are remarkable.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog & excellent pictures.
ReplyDeleteInteresting advice on keeping moths in the fridge. Although I doubt if my wife would appreciate it, I don't think she has recovered from the 'otter spraint on the carpet' incident.
Thanks! Of course, you need to contain the moth in a pot of some description before fridging it. A flock of free-range moths roaming around inside could be problematic... ;o)
ReplyDeleteOtter spraint? Could have been worse, I suppose... Mink is supposed to be stinky.