Once an amateur natural history enthusiast has mastered the world of macro moths it is only to be expected that they will take on the far harder task of learning micro moths. With around 1700 species recorded in Great Britain they offer a far greater challenge. Most species are only known by Latin names which, at least for me are far more difficult to remember. One of the attractions of the macros is their poetic names that have a Victorian feel. The Sallow Kitten, the drinker, the white ermine; a seemingly never ending list of beautiful titles that leave one feeling like Wordsworth out for a stroll on Exmoor. Now we find Eudonia Mercurella, Megaloptera, epinotia signatana; names we sometimes can only guess at accurate pronunciations of. Nevertheless entering this whole new world has an excitement. I shall try, where I can to photograph the ones that visit the stairwell and the outside doors which are lit up at night by an automatic trigger. Living as I do facing out onto fields and woodland our stairwell lights attract some beautiful visitors. Yesterday a neighbour caught me crouched with my phone looking into a dark corner. 'Ah! Bugs!' I heard her response as she realised my strange behaviour was not the schizoid peculiarity I'm locally known for but an interest in something she regarded as an interest in something she considered not worthy of attention or even further something that spoiled her world of potted plants and garden control. My aesthetic quest stands in opposition to her world view. But she will never win. Nature will always find ways to disrupt the disguise of her work to control the immediate environment. Some gardeners of course recognise the beauty of the natural world but most are engaged in a war to control its arrangement. For most micro moths, macro moths and even butterflies will never be more than bugs. Creepy crawleys that undermine their best efforts to organise patterns of hybrids they buy from garden centres.
Monday, 4 August 2025
Stairwell moths
Once an amateur natural history enthusiast has mastered the world of macro moths it is only to be expected that they will take on the far harder task of learning micro moths. With around 1700 species recorded in Great Britain they offer a far greater challenge. Most species are only known by Latin names which, at least for me are far more difficult to remember. One of the attractions of the macros is their poetic names that have a Victorian feel. The Sallow Kitten, the drinker, the white ermine; a seemingly never ending list of beautiful titles that leave one feeling like Wordsworth out for a stroll on Exmoor. Now we find Eudonia Mercurella, Megaloptera, epinotia signatana; names we sometimes can only guess at accurate pronunciations of. Nevertheless entering this whole new world has an excitement. I shall try, where I can to photograph the ones that visit the stairwell and the outside doors which are lit up at night by an automatic trigger. Living as I do facing out onto fields and woodland our stairwell lights attract some beautiful visitors. Yesterday a neighbour caught me crouched with my phone looking into a dark corner. 'Ah! Bugs!' I heard her response as she realised my strange behaviour was not the schizoid peculiarity I'm locally known for but an interest in something she regarded as an interest in something she considered not worthy of attention or even further something that spoiled her world of potted plants and garden control. My aesthetic quest stands in opposition to her world view. But she will never win. Nature will always find ways to disrupt the disguise of her work to control the immediate environment. Some gardeners of course recognise the beauty of the natural world but most are engaged in a war to control its arrangement. For most micro moths, macro moths and even butterflies will never be more than bugs. Creepy crawleys that undermine their best efforts to organise patterns of hybrids they buy from garden centres.
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