Showing posts with label Lunar Hornet Moth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lunar Hornet Moth. Show all posts

Thursday, 2 June 2011

Lunar Horny Moths

When you put 6 Lunar Hornet moths together
you know something's going to happen.
The female pushes out a gland from her tail and releases pheromones
A male arrives within minutes. 
The male gets in position.......
........ a bit of jostling.......
...and it's game on, for 6 hours!
The female then lays eggs on a Willow Tree trunk. Job done.

Monday, 30 May 2011

Three moths you've never seen before

One of the joys of mothing is you just never know what you're gonna find in the morning. The trap was full of joy this morning thanks to a warm, windless night - perfect moth trapping whether.

Amongst the species caught were two real rarities:

0200 Psychoides filicivora 
Psychoides filicivora had only been recorded once before in Northumberland in 2009. Two were trapped in the county last night including this one in my trap.

0893 Mompha epilobiella
This Mompha epilobiella is only the fourth record for the county.

0371 Lunar Hornet Moth
This Lunar Hornet Moth emerged this morning from an old Willow Tree stump that Tom Tams had in his shed. He noticed the characteristic holes made by the larvae, so kept it to see the moths. Something of a mythical creature in Northumberland, rarely ever seen. An amazing beast.