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| Double Square-spot, Xestia triangulum |
There were no new species this morning, but two were new to
me. First was the Marbled Minor (Oligia
strigilis). Oligia simply means ‘small’ and strigilis, (little line) refers to the black vein-like projections
on its wings. The other, the Double Square-spot (Xestia triangulum), got my hopes up because I mistook it for the
rare Triple-spotted Clay. It is a beautiful moth with its texture (Xestia means polished or smooth) and its
bold patterns (triangulum refers to
the straw-colored triangle wedged within the black sections of the wings).
I must admit that the most memorable visitors to the trap
were the twenty or so flies who were wide-awake and quite aggressive. I watched
as one sleepy Carpet Moth was jolted awake by a fly. After the moth resettled in
a different spot, the fly followed and nudged again, this time shooing the moth
from the trap. Later, I held a different moth out at arms length to photograph
it atop its egg carton. Much to my dismay, another fly jumped into the frame of
the photograph and knocked the sleeping moth from its perch. I think the flies
are starting to get jealous of all the attention the moths have been getting
lately.
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| Marbled Minor (Oligia strigilis) moments before the fly knocked him off the edge |
Post by Helen Levins
