Andrew and Inés had done some moth trapping overnight in their gardens, on thankfully a dry night and so we had about 100 moths of all sizes to study. Some were kept in the breathable zip up see-through nylon carrier so that we could view them from all angles, whereas others were resting in darkened containers, nestled into the valleys of several egg boxes inside. Andrew had also brought some Cinnabar caterpillars feasting on ragwort, their only food source and an adult Cinnabar moth was spotted in the nylon carrier too. At one point we counted 12 Buff Ermine moths which had kept close to each other and interestingly had a wide range of buffness, from a sandy colour to dark apricot. It made us ponder why they displayed such a wide colour range. Some moths were comfortable with exploring human fingers, arms and even ears! The star of the morning was a large Privet Hawkmoth which entertained us with its travels across the bodies of willing YNW volunteers. Some of the many other moths we identified included: Elephant Hawkmoth, Poplar Hawkmoth, Swallow-tailed, Brussels Lace, Mother of Pearl, Large Yellow Underwing, Thistle Ermine, Peppered, Brimstone Moth, Common Footman, Buff Footman, Coronet, The Uncertain, Light Red Arches, Dark Arches, European Corn Borer, Small Magpie, Common Wainscot, Riband Wave, Small Fan-footed Wave, Yellow Wave, Bright-Line Brown-Eye, Early Thorn, Foxglove Pug and Common Rustic. Comments are closed.
|
Young Nature Watch (YNW) is a branch of the Tisbury and District Natural History Society (T&DNHS).
YNW is free for under-21s! Young people always have priority at any of our activities but accompanying adults are required for under-12s. For adults, annual membership for the T&DNHS (£10) or a £2 fee per event (for non-members) is due. Download our annual programme below!
Join our mailing list to be the first to hear about our events! You can also follow us on:
YNW logo design by Izzy Fry.
Categories
All
Archives
October 2024
|