Pine Beauty

Yesterday was a very mild cloudy evening, so we put the moth trap out again. There was a much bigger catch than last time, dominated by Common Quakers, with a few Clouded Drabs, a couple of Pale Pinions and this single Pine Beauty, which certainly lives up to its name.

UK Moths have the following to say about this species:

Flying in March and April, this species is quite common over much of Britain in suitable habitat. It occupies coniferous forests and plantations, and the adults rest among the spring buds, well camouflaged. They also feed in spring at sallow blossom and are attracted to light. The larvae feed on the needles of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris), as well as other Pinaceae, and themselves are difficult to see with their longitudinal stripes.

This one probably came from the Scot's pine at the bottom of our garden. You can see how similar in colour it is to the pine bud, shown on the left of the image.

Apart from that excitement, it's been a fairly quiet day with more sorting done. I found my Mum's lifetime collection of buttons and threads. Having been a teenager in the Second World War, she never threw anything away if it might prove useful in the future. I've saved some of the prettiest buttons and most of the thread, and the rest will probably go to other home educators for art and craft activities.

Off to serve tea now - ragu with pasta . I'll be back to comment later.