LEPIDOPTERISMERISM
I write regularly in this blog about the beauty of the birds that can be seen here at the RSPB Old Moor reserve in Barnsley. Seeing as the 'B' in 'RSPB' stands for 'Birds' then it's only to be expected that I place the emphasis firmly on our feathered friends. I, like most of you, am an RSPB member so they're usually the first things I notice on my wildlife walks. But sometimes it pays to look outside of that particular metaphorical avian box and appreciate some of the other creatures that make up nature's rich tapestry. And some excellent examples are starting to appear around the reserve at the moment.
Many, many moons ago when the world was young, some early man said to his equally early mate, “Look at that thing flying there, as bright yellow as butter. It's as if butter could fly...”
Maybe I'm paraphrasing a little, I wasn't there at the time. Even I'm not that old. But the creature that (allegedly and maybe apocryphally) first gave rise to the word “butterfly” is still around and can be seen right now at Old Moor. The strikingly lemon-coloured Brimstone is just one of fourteen different butterfly and moth species that are currently (at the time of writing) flying around the reserve. By the time you read this there will probably be even more. It seems as though Spring has arrived.
The butterflies that we've recently seen are all quite easy to spot and name. I can recognise the aforementioned vivid lemon of the BRIMSTONE, the stunning 'eyes' that flash when the PEACOCK flutters its wings, and the COMMA with its outside edges that look like they've been nibbled into curves by a particularly tidy predator with an eye for symmetry. The RED ADMIRAL is easy to spot too, being mainly black with white spots and red stripes on its shoulders, like it's wearing some kind of military commendation. The final two that have been reported, SMALL TORTOISESHELL and SMALL (CABBAGE) WHITE, are both easy enough to identify too. Their names are descriptive enough, just like those of many other butterflies.
On the other hand the moths that we've recorded over the last week have names that don't seem to be based on their appearance at all. Even the YELLOW HORNED moth doesn't really have yellow horns. That and the following species are all here on the reserve right now, but if you're not a fully-trained lepidopterist, how would you even begin to identify by their names alone?
POWDERED QUAKER.TWIN SPOT QUAKER. SMALL QUAKER. CLOUDED DRAB. HEBREW CHARACTER. ENGRAILED. COMMON RUSTIC.
To some these names describe a fascinating collection of flying creatures that are just as captivating and important to our ecology as mammals, flowering plants or birds. They pollinate plants, their caterpillar stage provide food for almost all bird chicks and the adult moths are a hugely important source of nutrition for bats.
To me the labels seem like just a haphazard collection of unusual words, selected at random by stabbing a finger blindly into a dictionary. I know, I'm shockingly ignorant. Perhaps it's time I got myself an identification chart and a better education?
And as for the title of this piece? It's a compound word made up of 'Lepidopterism' – the study of butterflies and moths – and 'Mesmerism' – hypnotism through animal magnetism. I'll admit that I made up the term, just now, but doesn't it perfectly describe how charming these creatures are with the spellbinding patterns of their flights? Utterly gorgeous.
I have to come clean here and say that I'm frequently mesmerised by butterflies but their night-time cousins give me the heebies and the jeebies. I know it's irrational but there you are. I'd much rather see birds than moths, day or night. And this is where I seamlessly end the blog, as usual, with a photo of our recent sightings board. Whether it's birds or butterflies – or even moths – there are different species starting to appear at the reserve. See you there.