Moths to look out for in November ’20 Merveille du Jour A typically flamboyant Victorian name, but the Merveille du Jour deserves it. A master of camouflage, this single-brooded late autumn moth is relatively common and widespread. It lives on oak, overwintering first as an egg, and, refreshingly, it doesn’t seem to be declining. November […]
Author Archives: Mary Atkinson
MOTHS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN OCTOBER
MOTHS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN OCTOBER 2020 Flounced Chestnut A handsome moth seen only in the autumn. It comes to light and may also be seen feeding at twilight on ivy blossom and fermenting fruit. Overwintering as an egg, the night-feeding caterpillar will eat the leaves of a variety of deciduous trees in the […]
Moths to look out for in September
MOTHS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN SEPTEMBER 2020. Large Yellow Underwing More experienced ‘moth-ers’ will wonder why I have put in this most abundant and ubiquitous moth. But I find it’s one of the most frequently asked questions about wild-life. Such as “I got quite a jump. I was weeding and this big brown thing […]
Moths to look out for in August
MAGPIE MOTH This is a very distinctive moth with black and a few yellow spots on a white background. It has a single generation in the summer and will come to light or can be seen resting flat on foliage during the day. It’s about the size of a Gatekeeper. Its larval foodplants are many […]
Nightjarring
Nightjarring Perhaps it was my new hearing aids, or were the nightjars particularly vocal the other evening? Last Thursday was a suitable evening and we met a friend who had never heard them; a few LAPWG members also turned up. We kept an acceptable distance apart as we strolled up the track at the local […]