Swallow Tail and Gold Triangle
/There are some more moths from earlier in the week, pushing my garden list closer to 700 species. The Swallow-tailed Moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria) was a particularly beautiful one; also quite a late record for this species, which is commoner in July.
The Gold Triangle moth (Hypsopygia costalis) has two postures, this one with its wings splayed out and tail in the air and a more normal moth-like v-shape. It’s larvae live in dried vegetation, like hay stacks or my neighbour’s thatched roof. The other two moths are also typical for the season; the Pale Mottled Willow’s (Paradrina clavipalpis) larvae live in cereal grain, while those of the Rosy Rustic’s (Hydraecia micacea) live underground mostly in the roots of plants of the dock family.
