Aren't they great @NormandyLiz I'm totally hooked now, wish I had discovered the beauty of moths years ago when I took my photography far more seriously 🙂
Your photography is far better than mine. I usually just get an ID photo if I'm lucky. When its hot like last week, I had to put a tray of pots in the garage fridge to cool down before I could attempt to identify, then I found I had 5 Lichen beauty in there.
There are some stunning moths that fly in Autumn, like the Merveille De Jour, so I'm hoping for an Indian summer to extend the season out a bit. I can't be too hopeful when the weather is this terrible though.
If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Totally agree @wild edges the Merv is right up there with the best, but not sure if it comes anywhere near me, I'll have to check.
Hoping to put the trap out on Thursday, so will see what turns up.
A few more from the weekend.
I love how you can see the ghosting of the antennae in the below shot, the muscles used to warm up must be vibrating so incredibly fast that even the flash didn't freeze the motion.
Lichen beauty turned up in my vicinity about two weeks ago. The lady had put the moth trap in the garage that was being built, it had no doors or windows yet. She found one on the beams and was ecstatic. Last week I got 5. I always seem to be behind others in the area. My Magnolia flowers two weeks later than everyone else. I also caught a White pinion spotted last week, despite the books saying there is one generation , flies May to June, so well outside normal timings. I caught a Merveille de jour last year in one of my first traps. My Moth guru said it took her eight years to get one. They are completely dependant on Oak trees, so it will depend on how close to them you are. This moth season was absolutely dreadful right through to second week in June, then when the moths finally started coming out it has rained and everyone is using umbrellas and gazebos and porches. We had two hot nights last week and one night owl mothed both nights. I don't know when he slept. I got so many last Wednesday night it took me two days to identify them all.
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Hoping to put the trap out on Thursday, so will see what turns up.
A few more from the weekend.
I love how you can see the ghosting of the antennae in the below shot, the muscles used to warm up must be vibrating so incredibly fast that even the flash didn't freeze the motion.