By Peter Hillman
No wonder the birds don't fancy eating them and the Ragwort in the fields is teeming with these brightly coloured caterpillars of the The Cinnabar (Tyria jacobaeae), a moth which can be seen flying amongst the grasses during the daytime, especially when disturbed. Please see the adult below. Feel free to click the images to... Continue Reading →
The Small Grey (Eudonia mercurella) comes from a challenging group of moths to accurately identify. With a forewing length of up to 9mm (0.4in), this small moth can be quite variable, but can usually be identified by its white cross-lines and markings. The adults fly from June to September, and are attracted to light. They... Continue Reading →
This is quite a distinctive and unusual small moth. The Bird-cherry Ermine (Yponomeuta evonymella) has a forewing length of up to12.5mm (just over 0.5in). These moths frequently visit my garden, and they are often attracted to light. Its white silken forewings with fives rows of dots make this one of the easier ermels to identify,... Continue Reading →
July 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
July 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
Say Hi! 🙂 July 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
July 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
And this one is a little worn, but still an eye-catcher. June 2019, rear garden, South Staffordshire, England. © Pete Hillman.
Over the last three years since my garden pond's inception it has attacted some interesting and beautiful forms of wildlife. Growing Water Mint attracts these attractively coloured little micro moths called Pyrausta aurata - Mint Moth. The adult moths lay ther eggs on the plants and the hatching caterpillars feed on the leaves. May 2019,... Continue Reading →
