Well here goes, for better or worse, another year of moths. The old thread is here https://community.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/f/all-creatures/196070/mostly-moths-2018/1221500#1221500
To start us off a couple of silly ones that came to greet the first trap of the year on the night of the 1st to 2nd january. It was around 6-7°C all night & frosts ever since so I gave it a go.
A Double-striped Pug
& same one closed
& White Speck
Nothing earth-shattering, but a start!
Best wishes
Hazel in Southwest France
2013 photos & vids here
eff37 on Flickr
WOW ... have a female!! But slight problem as pupal case was attached to one wing, managed to free her but wing slightly bent ... hoping it dries out straight! She's a big girl & insisted in charging all around Butterfly house before settling to dry out properly which is why the pic is a bit blurred!
I am so very lucky ... female has come good as she dried
Male opened up to show hindwings
Didn't waste much time getting their act together ...
18.44
Lot to learn
Very lucky to get another female Emperor this afternoon, male & remaining intact pupa each in separate pots to prevent any further incestuous mating! Lol Can see first females eggs laid overnight in this new pic
Still has to dry out some more but is noticeably bigger than the first female!
Looks pretty much inflated now ... what a whopper!!
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Nige Flickr
Very small window of opportunity sometime late afternoon/early evening but they seem to manage quite well! Bit different when kept in captivity but even then the mating time was quite short in comparison to other moths I have bred ... must have been his bedtime! Lol Have edited in pic of her now fully inflated & well dried out!