A lovely little Pine Beauty in the moth trap at WWT Castle Espie Wetland Centre yesterday 😎

#nature #wildlife #invertebrates #insects #lepidoptera #moths #mothsmatter #pinebeauty #NorthernIreland #wwt #WWTCastleEspie

Still struggling a bit with very low night time temperatures, early season and lack of species diversity. Today's #MothOfTheDay is another early season regular. Small, compact, plain but appealing white pepper appearance

SMALL QUAKER
orthosia cruda

Very common. Larvae feed on sallow.

#moths #moth #mothsandbutterflies #butterflies #MothsMatter #nature #wildlife #britishwildlife #lepidoptera #entomology #insect #cute #garden #spring #March #conservation #biodiversity #alttext

Still very early in the season. Chilly nights = few species/numbers currently.

However, today's #MothOfTheDay is another new species for my garden.

BLOSSOM UNDERWING
Orthosia miniosa

Larvae feed on oak. Pinkish hue to underwing (see next take off video)

#moths #moth #mothsandbutterflies #butterflies #MothsMatter #nature #wildlife #britishwildlife #lepidoptera #entomology #insect #cute #garden #spring #March #conservation #biodiversity #alttext

Today's #MothOfTheDay is a new species for my garden. Not rare; just never had one before. Alas, I couldn't get a side shot to show it's ridged, bark-like appearance as it was too skittish and flew promptly. But here is:

TAWNY PINION
Lithophane semibrunnea

Hibernates over winter and reappears March/April.

#moths #moth #mothsandbutterflies #butterflies #MothsMatter #nature #wildlife #britishwildlife #lepidoptera #entomology #insect #garden #spring #March #conservation #biodiversity #alttext

More moths and a fat diving beetle from mum's garden.

#Entomology #Insects #Lepidoptera #Mothing #MothsMatter #Pollinators #MothsAndButterflies

A visit to my mum's place always means lots of work, but it's also a good opportunity to look for insects. This time I brought the LepiLED. There was a surprisingly good turnout in the moth trap this morning.

#Entomology #Insects #Lepidoptera #Mothing #MothsMatter #Pollinators #MothsAndButterflies

Today's #MothOfTheDay is another common winter/early spring moth. Not many options to showcase at the moment until warmer nights pick up.

EARLY GREY
Xylocampa areola

Larvae enjoy honeysuckle. Two to show here. Second one preparing for takeoff.

#moths #moth #mothsandbutterflies #butterflies #MothsMatter #nature #wildlife #britishwildlife #lepidoptera #entomology #insect #cute #garden #winter #spring #March #conservation #biodiversity #alttext

I'm currently adulting. Sort of.
It involves doing stuff I don't want to do, and learning new things that don't really interest me. Sounds like adulting.

Last year, I did a moth survey at a local nature preserve. That was the fun part.

The nature guides asked for pictures and as much information as possible about the moths, for education and habitat improvement.
So I made a folder with the best pictures I had, and tried my hand at an Excel sheet. It's... yeah, well... it's there, but it's quite bad.
I convinced my boss to send me on a rather expensive 9-day Excel course next month so I can do better.

Then I was asked to do a presentation.
Public speaking, YAY! My favourite /S

So, when I saw the neat presentation from Donald Hobern (Aranda Moths), I should have sat down and waited for the envy to pass.

I didn't, so now I'm back to cursing at my computer, drinking too much coffee, and learning how to make a slide show.

#Adulting #MothsMatter #Conservation

An almost full moon & partially clear skies tempered optimism last night, but it was mild, and I was rewarded with 12 visitors of 5 species.

Today's #MothOfTheDay

THE CHESTNUT
Conistra Vaccinii

A common winter/early spring moth whose larvae feed on oak, sallow and birch.

#moths #moth #mothsandbutterflies #butterflies #MothsMatter #nature #wildlife #britishwildlife #lepidoptera #entomology #insect #cute #garden #winter #spring #march #conservation #biodiversity #alttext