Yesterday’s news

I have had a number of careers now, none of them illegal anywhere in the world as far as I’m aware – though management consulting is not a universally admired occupation.  For a while after leaving The Firm I ran a local charity shop; I had a bit of money behind me and an appetite for [...]

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Après le déluge

It wasn’t obvious but the weather of earlier in the week was building to a crescendo which broke over head about an hour before what would have been sunset – last night, had the sky not already been black. Yet another electric storm and again pretty much overhead. With wind as well I had no [...]

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Small beer

The past couple of nights have been very quiet indoors. I spent a while last night watching a Common Emerald bobbing back and forth across the outside of the bathroom window; that was the nearest I came to seeing a macro species inside. The only two moths to actually come into the house were a [...]

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The better bit

I’m in a far, far sunnier mood this morning. Why? The weather is better, we’re in with a shout in the test match and, after yesterday’s tribulations over three small moths, I do have a couple of triumphs to report. The first is that the moth which I found on my sleeve the night I came [...]

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One reason things have been so quiet

I’ve had very little to write up, sadly. There were five moth species in the bathroom last night and two of them, the Clay and phylctaenia coronata have been very regular visitors this summer. The other three moths were obviously micro moths and new to me. One was not actually that small, probably with a [...]

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No freeloaders…

Around here, everybody earns their keep.  This freeloader came in with me last night, attaching itself to my sleeve somewhere between the road and the kitchen door and only being noticed when I tried to take my jacket off. After flying about for a short while it landed in a shallow spot of water left [...]

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Entirely Off-Res. Cat Post

In lieu of details of tonight’s new moth let me bring centre stage, just for one night the world’s stroppiest feline and some light reading material. What a bundle of charm. At least when he goes to the RSPCA he’ll have ‘invasion of privacy’ grounds for a divorce.

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After the deluge

It is still windy and I wouldn’t dare try to fix the great hole in the roof of the back shed in this so weather. I’m wondering who I can flutter my eyelashes at. The best I can do at the moment is jury rig something from the inside, move stuff out of the way, [...]

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Butterflies, bugs and a day flying moth

Not all moths are dark, heavy-bodied night flyers. Yesterday I went out to have lunch with a friend with whom I am plotting something that will keep me out of mischief for a short while later in the year. She’s not well so I didn’t stay long and as the cloud cover had cleared I [...]

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The one I almost forgot

In all the excitement of finding Nationally Scarce B moths on shed walls and making friends with clingy Poplar Hawk-moths I neglected to even give this next moth a mention. It is yet another first for me and relatively an interesting species. It is known as the Large Tabby (aglossa cuprina oraglossa pinguinalis), though it isn’t particularly [...]

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