Saturday 24 October 2015

Feathery fellows



It was nice to see this well-whiskered (or at least antennae-ed) chap in the eggboxes this morning - a Feathered Thorn - and that would have been satisfaction enough for me. But a couple of boxes later, I found another one. Here they are together:


And that wasn't it. A few minutes later, I discovered a third; then a fourth; and finally a fifth. Here they are all together, below, playing happy families. I wonder, genuinely, if that's what they have in mind. Has a female attracted the males for such a little clutch to turn up?


Other berths in the eggboxes were busy too, for example with a pair of exceptionally fine-condition Blair's Shoulder-knots, which surely support the thesis advanced in the comments made on my last post: that this migrant moth has now settled down and made itself a permanent home in the UK.


Also in residence, below, a new arrival for the year here: the Sprawler, which takes its excellent name from the habit its caterpillar has of throwing back its head when alarmed, rather as if it planned to lie back in a large armchair. Dave Wilton, the expert organiser of the unfailingly excellent Upper Thames Moths blog, says that Sprawlers remind him of Blair's Shoulder-knots wearing winter coats and I think that this is very apt. A fine garment with a look of Harris Tweed.



Finally, because I'm being summoned to do other things, here are three other arrivals whose identity I've not yet sorted. I aim to get this done in due course but, as regular readers know, I am never averse to someone more expert lending a much-appreciated, short-cutting hand.

Common Marbled Carpet?
Brown-line Bright-eye with the bright bit of 'eye' dulled? (Wild guess)
Very battered Spruce Carpet?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Martin.

The first half looks good to my eye, but for the last three I would personally pick Common Marbled Carpet, Square-spot Rustic, Common Marbled Carpet.

MartinWainwright said...

Hiya and thanks as always. I think you're right (as usual) The S-s R is one I always overlook. All warm wishes

Martin