6 September 2012 - Fairy Longhorns

Moth on Cuckoo Flower

This image is out of sequence.  The photograph was taken in May and shows a Fairy Longhorn moth (Adela rufimitrella) resting on a Cuckoo flower (Cardamine pratense).  Or at least that is what it nearly certainly is...  The image was sent to Dave Chesmore in May and although he was happy to agree that it is a longhorn, he couldn't be completely sure which one.  The moth was in a group of seven or eight clustered on the petals of the flowers, their wings glinting in the sunlight.  This is the second year they have been spotted, so next May a clearer image will be taken and we'll see if there are fairies in the garden.
John Clare thought there were:
'One almost fancies that such happy things,
With coloured hoods and richly burnished wings,
Are fairy folk, in splendid masquerade
Disguised...'