13 June 2011 - Bringer of good tidings

The Eyed Hawk-moth (Smerinthus ocellata) glared at me when I tried to move it from the trap to find a more appropriate background for a photograph.  Smerinthus meaning ‘thread’ is a possible link to the Death’s Head Hawk-moth (Acherontia atropos), as the thread referred to could be that of Life itself, woven by the Fates and cut by Atropos.  The ‘eyed’ (Ocellata) markings are displayed when the moth is disturbed and this behaviour is apparently sufficient to deter insectivorous birds.

The Hummingbird Hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) was spotted yesterday morning (before the heavens opened) sizzling next to the sweet rocket flowers in the garden.  It zipped over to the honeysuckle took a sharp right and then zoomed off towards a clump of valerian. By the time I returned with a camera it was probably in Thirsk.  The Latin name refers to Macroglossum – ‘long tongued’ and stellatarum – a synonym of Rubiaceae, the family containing bedstraw and wild madder, cited as foodplants by Linnaeus.  Why such a dramatic speedster should have been given such an ordinary name is odd – unless there is something in wild madder that we don’t know about.  The moth is supposed to be a bringer of gladsome tidings - which is all to the good.
 

The Beautiful Golden Y (Autographa pulchrina) is as beautiful as it sounds. The Beautiful (pulcher) Y is ‘written by the moths themselves’ (autographa) and is variable.  The moth in the photograph on the left has written its name with a gap between the v-shape and the spot; the one on the right has a more flowing signature and the 'Y' is more clearly seen.
Tonight should be rain-free and warmer so, in honour of Martin Wainwright’s welcome visit to Shandy Hall tomorrow, a trap will be set.  

18 April 2011-Shandy Hall moths on BBC Radio 4

Moths have not been plentiful over the last few nights – a bright, nearly full moon and low temperatures brought out just enough to satisfy the hunger of the first pipistrelle of the year – but moth enthusiasts were in plentiful supply. Martin Wainwright and Iain Chambers are putting together a radio programme with a mothy theme for BBC Radio 4 and their research led them to Coxwold to interview young Will Smith. Will was a pupil at Husthwaite Primary School when his class were involved in the Winged Skull exhibition in the gallery at Shandy Hall in 2005 and he was remembering seeing Acherontia atropos, the Death’s-head Hawk-moth in the classroom just after the insect had emerged from its pupa.

After interviewing Will, Martin and Iain went off to the wilds of Kilburn to see how many varieties could be identified on a chilly April night.

The programme they are compiling will be called Requiem for a Moth and will echo the title of a new work by Harrison Birtwistle where the composer will create a requiem for each species of moth that has become extinct since his childhood. We look forward to listening to what should be a fascinating programme when it is broadast on Radio 4 on 6 May at 11.00am.

Winged Skull

Moths have been part of the activities at Shandy Hall since a chance glimpse of the Allis Collection in the store at York Museum produced the idea of linking Laurence Sterne and Acherontia atropos – the Death’s-head Hawk-moth. This moth, which is not a native species, is the largest moth found in the UK and has a distinctive marking on its thorax – a shape that resembles a skull. The Death’s-head Hawk-moth is a ‘winged skull’.

Parson Yorick is a character in Tristram Shandy and his name was deliberately chosen by Sterne to remind the reader of his namesake Yorick the jester in Hamlet Act V Scene 1; Yorick - the skull; Yorick the Alas! poor.....

The Death’s-head Hawk-moth is a winged skull and a winged skull is a memento mori – the insect, the character(s) and emblem remind us of death.

Thanks to a grant from Creative Minds (a YMLAC project funded by the Regional Development Agency, Yorkshire Forward) a moth-trap was purchased and the number and variety of moths caught in Shandy Hall’s gardens were identified and recorded. Each day, before assembly, the children at Husthwaite Primary school in Yr 6 were shown the previous night’s catch. Acherontia pupae were purchased and the children saw them hatch. York Museums Trust kindly lent sections of the Allis collection and they were displayed in the gallery at Shandy Hall so the children (and the public) could see the display, the captured species and the newly hatched Death’s-head Hawk Moths.

Carry Akroyd created a poster to attract visitors (a detail is at the top of this blog) and you can see the original work on her website.

The association with moths has continued since this first proper encounter.