Female Emperor mothLook what Darren brought back from the shops. He'd been out for some tobacco (of which I disapprove, for what it's worth) but found this marooned in the middle of the road. As he attempted a rescue, he waved a car out of the way, which just happened to be a police car.
PC: What you got there then?
Darren: It's a moth.
PC: Big f***er, innit! I'd have run over that!
After a brief period of refrigeration, we managed to identify it as a female Emperor moth. You can read all about them on the UK Moths website, which I wholeheartedly recommend.
Emperors are supposed to occur in open country and moorland, so I'm not quite sure what it was doing in urban Peterborough. The caterpillars' foodplants are things like heather and brambles, so maybe it inhabited a blackberry patch or someone's plant pots.
photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995
oh.my.god.
ReplyDeleteOn the one hand, I do (no, seriously!) appreciate how beautiful she is and the amazing markings. On the other hand, I am creeped out beyond belief with a rather (irrational??) fear. (and you had this in your fridge??!!)
But, I do enjoy seeing them without having to deal with them in real life - so keep taking pics for the rest of us!
What a fantastic beast! I'm not really "into moths" but I'll certainly look more actively for them in future. A great photograph too.
ReplyDeleteJust out of interest. Why'd you refrigerate the moth?