Thursday, July 27, 2006

Footman

This amazing moth flew in our window the other night.
I had to do a bit of reseach to find out what kind he was- it turns out he is a male four-spotted footman moth Lithosia quadra

The females have the 4 spots that give the moth its common name and look quite different from the males.

They feed on lichen and are strongl attracted by light- which is why it flew in- we have a new halogen lamp that seems to be incredibly attractive to moths and flies [its done a good job of killing mosquitoes though thats not its actual function].

I really liked the moth's rusty coloured 'fur collar'

The photos were taken without flash in quite subdued halogen lighting- I didn't use the flash becuase it scares off whatever i am trying to photograph. Still the photos turned out well and after the moth had a short rest, it flew away.


Technorati Tags:





5 comments:

natural attrill said...

Hi Alison,
Isnt the graduation of colour from its head to the tip of its wings beautiful.
Penny.

Anonymous said...

Amazing photograph, Alison - so brilliant when one can capture those perfect close-ups.

Anonymous said...

I like it's red furry stole...very zsa zsa! :-)
We saw a massive moth the other evening, thought a bat had flown in at first, but it wouldn't stay still for me to identify it.

Unknown said...

Alison, I have just finished reading Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. As a lover of moths, this might be a novel you would savour.

Charlene Amsden said...

Nice of it to pause for photos! Must also be a bit of a ham ....