Saturday 11 March 2017

Quaker meeting



After my slightly disparaging remarks about the Common Quaker two days ago, a whole host of Quaker moths arrived last night, turning the busiest trap of the year into a Friends' meeting house. I can't be dishonest (and thus un-Quakerly) however, so I must stick to my guns and say that I find the Common Q a completely unremarkable moth. Fortunately, there were as many Small Quakers among the dozen or so visitors in the eggboxes and they are prettier altogether.

All the moths in my top picture are SQs except the one at bottom left which is a CQ.  I make up these composite pictures from the very good Layout facility on my Instagram system and here's another one, of four March Moths which were all on the trap's transparent plastic shield this morning.  I was glad that I photographed them at 7am because when I went to get the trap to bring it indoors, to show the contents to my niece and her fiance (wedding in September, can't wait), they had all flown (or possibly been eaten by birds, though this seems a rare occurrence so long as they keep still).



I think that I have another new moth for the year (along with the Small Quaker) below: a Chestnut. And after that, a couple of Dotted Borders, the darker one in the eggboxes and its very attractive, lighter companion out on the shield with the March Moths.




Finally, a wasp of some maevolent-looking kind. Poor thing, it probably does no harm and possibly much good.



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