Moth

Identification - family crambidae.

A thin layer of high cirrus cloud today, so I decided to pass on the cuckoo wasp and do an early safari at the stream. If the sky cleared before midday, I could always do a cuckoo stakeout later.

Most moths actually look a bit boring and unless you take the trouble to have a closer look, you will never know any different. This on for example, fluttered past my nose and landed on a leaf nearby. 'Just another grey moth' passed through my mind, but I decided to take a look anyway.

At the right angle, the wings appeared transparent and then they catch the light and throw off a pearly iridescence, which I have captured here, if you care to go in large.

The moth's camouflage is also quite effective, disguising itself as a hole in the leaf. I wonder if it chose this perch deliberately for the holes in the leaf or was it just coincidence - a boring moth turns out to be quite fascinating up close.

Dave