Moooths!

'Moths! They come out at niiiiiight!
Moths! They able to fliiiiight!
Moths! Theyre confused by liiiiight!
Moths! Theyre mothylicious!
Moths! Theyre not delicious!
Moths! Mooooooooths! Moooooooths!'

Several months ago I went on a field trip and did a project on moths. My boyfriend decided he wanted to help and composed the above song.

As I am currently snowed under with writing up the results of said project, I decided to write a post all about moths!

This will take the form of a 'top ten' of my favourite moths which we caught during the week, and why they are so awesome (because moths are awesome, and I never realised it before).

10. Burnished Brass

 

Yes, its wings really were that shiny!

 

9. Cinnabar

These moths liked to play dead, which made testing their behaviour very difficult. Then after a while they became extremely active, meaning I spent a lot of time chasing the escapees around the lab trying to catch them again.

Its bright colours are a warning signal to predators that the moth is unpalatable. The larvae absorb toxic and bitter compounds from the plants they eat, which are then incorporated into their own body.


8. Beautiful Golden Y

It really lives up to its name with the purple and gold colouration. The wings are also slightly reflective (although not as much as the Burnished Brass above).

7. Eyed Hawkmoth

 (my own photo)

This is the first of the hawkmoths to make the list, although all of the ones we caught were amazing in their own right. I loved this one because of the beautiful eye spots and the unusual wing posture (which was a characteristic shared by some other hawkmoths, such as the poplar which just missed out on this list).

6. Alder Kitten

The first morning I genuinely thought a bird had managed to poo inside the trap... but it was just a very well disguised moth!

5. Elephant Hawkmoth

 

Like many others on the field trip, I was surprised that moths this brightly coloured lived in the UK. There are two species, the Large E.H and the Small E.H, which can be told apart by their wing shape. The photo above is the L.E.H.

4. Pale Tussock

 (my own photo)

Nicknamed Yeti Moth by my friend, partially for its fluffy white appearance and partially for its habit of holding its wings up as seen in the photo above.

3. Buff Tip

The camouflage on this moth is incredible.

Is it a twig? Or is it a moth?

2. Privet Hawkmoth

I will never forget that moment on the first morning when, after finding lots of smaller moths, we turned over another part of the trap and saw... this.

 

The Privet hawkmoth is one of the largest moths to live in the UK, and when disturbed it flashes stripes of purple on its abdomen.

1. Buff Arches!

 

The swirly abstract patterning of the wings is very good camouflage for twigs and leaves, as well as being very beautiful.

I haven't gone into too much detail on the moths above as I should really be doing something other than procrastinating right now, but I hope you enjoyed that quick glimpse at the diversity of moths in the UK!

On a more general note...

As a China Mieville fan, I could really see where he got the inspiration for the slake moths in Perdido Street Station from - not just the insect facial features, but also the incredible wing patterns.

 (my own photo)

I also loved some of the crazy names naturalists have given moths over the years: Uncertain, Anomalous and Pebble Prominent were some of my favourites.

(disclaimer, all of the photos except those marked as my own were found on google. If you are the owner of one of these pictures and do not wish for me to use it, please contact me.)