Waxwing

Waxwing
"To see a world in a grain of sand,
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour."

From "Auguries of Innocence"

by William Blake

Friday 27 July 2012

A Footman Has Arrived!

A rather belated report of moths trapped last Saturday! I think the catch would have been a lot larger but, in addition, to the number of micros especially that always escape as I pot the moths, I forgot to close the trap so many more no doubt disappeared before I got round to emptying it.

A few new species for the year.


The dreaded Large Yellow Underwings have arrived - only one this week but soon there will be dozens of the things.



Hopefully, my id is right on this one - a Common Footman. Last year I got my Scarce and Common Footmen all muddled up but I've compared photos and checked the "bible" and I am pretty sure this is "Common"!



Summary of Moths Trapped Saturday, 21st July

15w Actinic Skinner Trap

Minimum Temperature 12.4 degrees centigrade

Uncertain x 18

Heart and Dart x 1

Dark Arches x 2

Silver Y x 1

Large Yellow Underwing x 1 New for Year

Garden Grass-veneer x 2

Agriphila straminella x 1

Common Footman x 1 New for Year

4 comments:

Rohrerbot said...

Interesting the second photo. Those wings are perfect blankets:) What has been interesting here is that it moistens up and also warms up, the moths become more colorful and interesting. It looks like the same for you as well. Enjoy your weekend:)

Ragged Robin said...

Rohrerbot - The Footmen are rather cute smart little moths :) Love the idea of their wings being perfect blankets :) They are only a couple of centimetres in length. Certainly get more moths here when its warmer - cold clear nights means few moths whereas warm and muggy you get more even if it rains!

ShySongbird said...

Good to see you are trapping some moths to give your brain and books some exercise Caroline :-)

I'm sure you told us but my brain obviously needs a polish as I can't remember why the Large Yellow Underwings are 'dreaded'?

BTW I forgot to mention that my copy of the Ina Taylor book was only seven pounds, not bad for hardback, I thought!

Ragged Robin said...

Shy Songbird - LOL! Jan. Been doing the same this afternoon hence missing Andy Murray :( Have to justify the expense of the new micro book!

I tend to dread Large Yellow Underwings because I get so many!! And because my id skills are still not of the best! I have to examine each and everyone as there are others that are similar such as Lunar Yellow and Lesser Yellow!! Plus they do tend to "buzz" around the trap disturbing all the others as they do so! I sometimes despair my id skills are ever going to improve :(

That was a good price for the Ina Taylor - are you enjoying it? I recently found another Edith book buried in one of the bookcases which I got second hand. Its a short children's story called The Hedgehog Feast. The illustrations were painted by Edith after 1911 and words have been added by her great niece Rowena Stott to turn it into a story about a family of hedgehogs and a hibernation feast.