Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
Moths are really beautiful insects - if you look carefully look at them they are really diverse in form, and some are exceptionally pretty with really complex markings.
As it's that time of year, I thought I'd try my moth trap last night for a couple of hours in my back garden.
It's a canvas sided box with a funnel with a black light source on top. Moths gather around the light, and some slip into the box via the funnel. It doesn't harm them at all - you just release them by unzipping it.
I live right in the centre of Dover near the Dour, so these are fairly typical beasties to be found around here. Here are a few of the better pics; hope I've got them right:
Moth Trap
Marbled Green (I think)
Oak Eggar (huge!)
Riband Wave
Swallow-tailed Moth
Don't know!
Guest 649- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 14,118
Phil, Thank you for showing us them.
Phil, is the last one "upside down" moth?
Guest 700- Registered: 11 Jun 2010
- Posts: 2,868
Beautiful, beautiful moths. I love them.
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Lincolnshire Born and Bred
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
all very good, like the marbled green one best.
Gorgeous - and the moths!!
Guest 694- Registered: 22 Mar 2010
- Posts: 778
I like the oak fella.. he is very pretty indeed..
Has anyone else noticed how many grass hoppers there are or do they just like my grass ?
Guest 643- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,321
Mark, I had one creeping up my wall the other night. I put a glass near it and it jumped in - then I put him out on the lawn.
Phil - love your photos, but I find moths a bit creepy, don't know why though lol x
There's always a little truth behind every "Just kidding", a little emotion behind every "I don't care" and a little pain behind every "I'm ok".
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
not seen one grasshopper this year, had loads over the last few years, that and crickets.
Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
Thanks!
Yes, a lot of people have a phobia about moths. I suppose it's because you just can't see them coming at night and many have a rapid fluttery motion. Butterflies aren't too bad to learn as we have only about 60 species in the UK and many are very distinctive, mind you I give up with the Fritillaries and Blues without a book.
Moths are a different kettle of fish, there are around 900 species in the UK, and that excludes the micro-moths. I just don't know where to begin...Some have amazing names, sometimes descriptive such as Light Crimson Underwing or Black Arches, and sometimes completely inexplicable such as the L-album Wainscot or the Setaceous Hebrew Character. I kid you not.
Guest 690- Registered: 10 Oct 2009
- Posts: 4,150
Phil, lovely picture`s mate, and a pity butterflies won`t keep still long enough to be imaged. You made me think of the year before last when the wife decided to put blue solar powered light`s round the lilac tree. A few weeks later, the rich green leaves were clearly to be seen have been eaten away at the top. Someone mentioned ants or earwigs, and a it`s a sad fact that a number of ants must have paid with their lives after I sprayed the tree and base with antkiller, for something that wasn`t their fault. The leaf eating continued until next door`s brother said about the blue light`s attracting the moth`s. Removed the lights, which solved the problem. Anyone else experienced that?
Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
Guest 657- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 3,037
Great photos Phil, I prefer butterflies but I can cope with moths. Yes Mark I have noticed lots of grasshoppers whilst I've been in various cemetries lately.
Guest 694- Registered: 22 Mar 2010
- Posts: 778
Not as great at Phils, but I caught this fella the other day
Excuse the state of my mum and dads carpet, I hadnt hoovered that morning, but puts its size in perspective.. you can see a dogs hair along the top!!
Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
Oh, very nice. That'd be a Riband Wave (Idaea aversata) according to my bible (I think). It looks the same species as the one above, albeit a much better angle.
YUK YUK YUK.
Guest 694- Registered: 22 Mar 2010
- Posts: 778
Phil i should give you the key to mums and dads then because they are just everywhere up there.. this was taken at 4 in the afternoon!! Dogs dont give a monkeys and just ignore them..
Loving the new camera as well..can you tell?! LOL!
Guest 644- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 1,214
Don't worry Melissa. Just wait for the SPIDER thread.
Guest 694- Registered: 22 Mar 2010
- Posts: 778
erm... can we not have on of those...
Oh no please i hate things like that, dont get me wrong im an animal lover ( after all i got married lol) but cant stand looking at them or having them near me thats moths, butterflies or the dreaded S word, eugh
