Drab, moi?

Clouded Drab


Ever see a man cycling along the road pulling a moth trap behind him in a bike trailer?, you have?, well that was probably me. I've set my nocturnal base of operations up in the gardeners compound, and my little actinic light trap is at this very moment dueling it out with the adjacent car park lighting and the low temperatures. Fingers crossed!


Common Quaker


Last night was my first go this year at running my trap overnight, and I was pleasantly surprised this morning to discover three moths resting amongst the egg boxes inside the trap. Actually I nearly missed one which had cunningly hidden itself between the base of the light fitting and the underside of the trap lid. Lesson 1, check everywhere!

The amazing invisible moth turned out to be a 'Clouded Drab', great name eh? One of my favourite moth species actually, and in my opinion not so drab. Your first thought is of a dark, unremarkable moth, but it has some nice fine line work, a rich chestnut bloom to the wings, an indistinct grey dusting (clouded?) and an overall rough texture which belies it's comical name.

The other two occupants were both Common Quakers. Both photos above were taken in March 2006. I'll try to post this weeks shots over the next few days.