I kept a couple of the PSB plants which produced well this spring, over a long period, to collect some seed. My new brassicas are covered with butterfly net, but not the old ones - and the cabbage whites have been visiting... but so have parasitic wasps... we now have numbers of dead caterpillars and lots of little yellow wasp cocoons. The last act of the dying caterpillar, having "given birth" to the cocoons, seems to be to protect them by spinning silk threads to hold them to leaves (or the soffits above my windows). Gruesome but interesting!
Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
This moth flew past me while I was out walking yesterday. I saw it land but took my eyes off it to get my phone out for a photo and when I looked back I couldn't see it.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
@Fire I was searching your pic for the hairy caterpillar and then realised it was all the hair in the middle! @pitter-patter. Lovely photo. @wild edges. That's what you call well camouflaged.
I ran the moth trap again last night. I'm not sure if I was competing with the full moon or if the nights are getting too cold up here now but there was only about 40-50 moths of about 20 species. A couple of new ones turned up though so I'm always happy with that.
A barred hook tip
A common roller
and just for the name: aFlounced
Rustic, Luperina testacea.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
- there is certainly a book in here - of illustrations (drawings?) of wonderful moths and their fabulous names - I can picture the drawing of the Flounced Rustic and the Rosy Footman.
There's quite a few plain brown moths with brightly coloured underwings that they flash to scare away predators. The latin names though mean things like 'the bride' and 'the mistress' apparently, which is supposed to be a subtle reference to racey underwear hidden under a demure dress.
I've also got one moth I can't identify properly. I think it's 'The uncertain' but I can't be sure. The name seems to be a strong hint that this is a common problem
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
I'd like to flag up poet Alice Oswald, a professional gardener . She has an illustrated book called 'Weeds and Wildflowers' - it makes a great present if you know a gardener into poetry. She is now the Oxford Professor of Poetry. She lives by Dartmoor and has written beautifully about the River Dart and the Severn - detailing a lot of the wildlife.
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Gruesome but interesting!
@pitter-patter. Lovely photo.
@wild edges. That's what you call well camouflaged.
Fab photos. Thanks