However Wednesday evening in the garden my husband and daughter saw and caught this micro moth....
This is Esperia sulphurella. Known to fly during the daytime and it's larvae feed on dead and rotting wood. A striking moth, yet so small. A wingspan of 12-16 mm.
Whenever we read about a moth's habitat and that of the larvae we always stop to think 'where in our garden or area do we have any of the named food plants and habitats?'.
Sometimes the answer is obvious, other times not and therefore the moth would have travelled quite far.
So Thursday morning I went to empty the moth trap and gather up any moths on the fences and plants surrounding the trap.
My first encounter was this slug. I am not a slug expert or have great knowledge of them but thought I would share this with you : I heard on a national radio news this week that because the UK has had quite a mild winter, the slugs have not hibernated and experts state that their numbers have increased at a such an early time of year.
Now onto the moth trap. Surprisingly, there was only 1 individual inside it, and all the others were on the grass and fence - 9 species, 13 individuals.
Common Marbled Carpet
Brimstone moth. Not the best photo but you can appreciate the delicacy of their small bodies and legs wrapped around a blade of grass.
This is called Poplar Grey. If you look carefully you might just be able to see a sort of face in the pattern of it.
Other moths trapped were Double-striped pug, garden Carpet, Hebrew Character, Common Quaker, Early Grey and Clouded Drab.
Today this little fellow was greeting me at the front door. It was an obviously different species of spider because of its shape. In fact I had to take a closer look as at first glance it thought it only had 6 legs. I posted it to the Facebook ID group and someone has suggested a running crab spider. Quite striking markings though.
On my walk up to my daughter's school today whilst she rode her bike I heard 2 Chiffchaffs singing and 2 Song Thurshes singing, of which one was in the open, perched on a branch of a dead tree singing its heart out! Gorgeous. But yet again, no camera! Next time maybe!
On that note, I would like to take the opportunity to share the plight of thousands and thousands of birds that are slaughtered illegally and so cruelly in certain parts of Europe.
Birdlife International runs several campaigns to protect many endangered birds throughout our world. But this one is so, so heart breaking. They have a made a new video to highlight what goes on - it is awful and very graphic. Their campaign to end this heartless act is on their website and being shared through social media. Please take time to read it and if you are heartbroken, like me, watching or reading it then let's do something about it before it's too late. Take action.
Many of the birds killed are migratory - they may never reach their destination which could be your country. If you like reading my blogs, are starting to learn more about nature and gain respect and enjoy it, please sign and share the petition and/or donate. Many, many more signatures are needed. Thank you for your time. Back soon.
http://www.birdlife.org/
http://campaign.justgiving.com/charity/birdlifeint/stop-illegal-killing
No comments:
Post a Comment