No #MothOfTheDay yesterday and last night's moth box was paltry (full moon and lowish temps), Today we have
DUN-BAR
cosmia trapezina
Its name, a very literal description of colour and pattern. Not too dissimilar to Scalloped Oak exhibited previously.
#interesting #fact - known to cannabalise other moth larvae
Our garden has been receiving a beautiful and unexpected visitor recently. It is a special pleasure because when we moved in, the garden was devoid of food sources for wildlife.
We didn't have much time to stop for insect pics on yesterday's walk, but we made an exception for this Hummingbird Hawk Moth that we spotted in someone's front garden. What a beautiful creature!
Today's #MothOfTheDay is calisthenics for lepidoptera. It is a slo-mo video of a NUT-TREE TUSSOCK preparing for take-off. This shows how a moth flexes its wings to warm them up after a night's rest on the egg boxes. It's rather hypnotic.
A very photogenic Poplar Hawk Moth in Hide 1 at RSPB Belfast Window On Wildlife this morning.
#nature #naturephotogaphy #wildlife #invertebrates #insects #lepidoptera #moth #moths #mothsmatter #poplarhawkmoth @RSPB
Finally finished processing the photos I took in #ChingazaNationalPark, #Colombia on 29 March 2025.
Andean #Condor, Black-chested Buzzard-#Eagle, White-collared #Swift, Tyrian Metaltail, lots of interesting plants and a few nice #moths.
On #iNaturalist:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2025-03-29&user_id=dhobern&verifiable=any
Also in this Flickr album:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dhobern/albums/72177720324868745
Still hundreds more photos to sort (mainly birds) from my last two days in Colombia.
A Prominent Moth, Cerasana pagenstecheri, spotted at MacRitchie Reservoir Park, Singapore on 2 Feb 2025. Not colourful, but with a nice, muted patterning on the wings.
On iNaturalist [ https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/260360933 ].
Today's #MothOfTheDay is a plain, but neat and tidy sandy coloured moth with two white diamond shaped dot stigmata:
THE CLAY
mythimna ferrago
A common moth whose caterpillars feed on grasses, dandelions and chickweed.
“Mythology and folklore surrounding moths and butterflies carries complex and sometimes contradictory symbolism,” textile artist Larysa Bernhardt says. “I was always attracted to their paradoxical nature.”
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/07/larysa-bernhardt-moths/
WIP
Same players :)
#sciart #entomology #ink #moths #chimera
Today's #MothOfTheDay is a little worn and faded (aren't we all?!), but is relevant to the month.
JULY HIGHFLYER
hydriomena furcata
Geometers (flatties, rather than fatties) tend to be flighty and not very photo-compliant and need no invitation to fly away. Thankfully, this one landed on some shrubbery.
Here are four of the wonderful insects we saw yesterday at Spurn Nature Reserve. They are all species I've never seen before, which was exciting! I'm especially pleased about this bee-mimic hoverfly, Eriozona sayrphoides, as there are only 96 records of this species on iNat worldwide, and just 32 in the UK. This might be the fanciest hoverfly I've ever seen! And it was lovely, a big beefy cutie who towered over the little marmalade hoverflies on the same plant.
1. Eriozona sayrphoides
2. Eurasian Smoothwing (Scaeva pyrastri)
3. Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanea)
3. Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata)
News from Knepp: insect blog and gardening tips
https://knepp.co.uk/2025/06/insect-sign-and-structures/
Big Butterfly Count 18 July-10 August
https://butterfly-conservation.org/events/the-big-butterfly-count-2025
Gardening for Butterflies!
https://butterfly-conservation.org/how-you-can-help/get-involved/gardening