Laura Sharp

A very hungry Emperor Moth caterpillar for #MothFaceFriday being a messy eater eating getting food in his facial hair 😋

Video taken back in May. One of several caterpillars I was rearing through. #TeamMoth

Had a couple of Light Emeralds come to light up in Aberdeenshire on Thursday night. What a strange year it has been!

Thanks for joining us. Hopefully Mary enjoyed the Mervs!

#teammoth

That second photo! 'I'm dead, honest', whilst still clinging on for dear life 🤣

A Feathered Thorn moth flaunting its feathery antennae

The face of the Feathered Thorn, with its antennae tucked down by its sides

A Feathered Thorn moth resting on bracken

It's the final #MothFaceFriday of #Leptember
So here's an autumnal offering by way of today's Feathered Thorn.
Such a gorgeously fluffy auburn face and thorax, and a pair of very impressively feathered antennae. Stunning!

The Streak

Red-line Quaker

The Satellite

Green-brindled Crescent

November moth

Feathered thorn. Those antennae! 🤩

Mottled Umber

Merveille du'jour. I loved the w on this ones neck/thorax!

A lovely morning at Dinnet oakwood yielded 30:14 most NFM as my first Autumn trapping night off moorland.

Feathered Thorn 2, November moth 1, Green-brindled Crescent 5, Merveille DJ 2, Mottled Umber 1, Red-line Quaker 1, Streak 1, Snout 1, Satellite 1, Red-green Carpet 2, Light Emerald 2.
#TeamMoth

Lovely photo, really shows off that green sheen!

Blue Morpho butterfly

A couple of Owl butterflies

The Malachite butterfly with its wings closed showing the muted tones of the undersides

The Malachite butterfly with its wings open displaying the bright uppersides

A #Leptember visit to Chester Zoo would not be complete without a walk through the #Butterfly house.

Gosh, I'd love to be in Costa Rica right now!

Credit for photos 1 & 4 go to @conricosteez.bsky.social

A striking broom moth caterpillar on Erica at Glen Tanar

What I think is a False Chanterelle uprooted by a couple of foraging mountain bikers in Caledonian pine forest. I love the gills on this.

A beautiful orange-red spear of Bog Asphodel with a backdrop of crimson sphagnum

I improvised a beating tray out of my shopping bag to harvest Juniper berries which are ripening already. I do like my gin!

This #Leptember I am undertaking 360 quadrats at my moth trapping sites to quantify browsing and describe vegetation composition.

I love autumn, and my sites are so beautiful. I'm having a lot of fun!

Typing it up is less fun 🫩 If only AI could accurately transcribe voice notes to .csv #TeamMoth

Underside view of the impressive Northern Eggar

The Northern Eggar moth resting on heather up on moorland back in July

It's the first #MothFaceFriday of #Leptember
So here's the tiny head, broad shoulders and thick torso of the Northern/oak Eggar.
These moths always give me body-builder vibes!

Have a pumped weekend #TeamMoth - don't overdo it on the protein shakes!

So fluffy you can barely see its face! 🥹

Ah yes. Just looked it up on nhbs and the mesh bag itself is £75 😯 But it would be so time consuming to make oneself. Like you say, if it lasts and brings enjoyment then it's worth it!

That would be a shame! Do you ever get others asking for photos?

That Blotched Emerald is amazing 🤩

I have a book of her art. Looking forward to diving in when the weather isn't so great!

What an interesting trap! Could be very useful for field work i imagine. In your opinion, is it worth the £££?

Autumn is here, heralded by this Autumn Green Carpet moth. My first was a no-longer-hibernating female, back in June!

A wet night and nippy morning up on Donside, but still 210:37 to light.

NFM were 2 Setaceous Hebrew Character and a Canary-shouldered Thorn, which ended up as a spider's breakfast 😔

Also, 2 November Moth, 7 Autumn Green Carpet, 13 Autumnal Rustic, 6 Black Rustic, 15 Golden-rod Brindle
#TeamMoth

Angle Shades is always a joy 😊

Here's a lovely one quaking and quivering on the heather, warming up from the trap this morning.

#TeamMoth

A very colourful Pink-barred Sallow

A handsome Grey Chi

A very dark Northern Spinach

A peachy Angle-striped Sallow

A damp but still night on Donside yielded 263:36 including NFM Pink-barred Sallow.

Also, 8 Small Wainscot, 7 Black Rustic, 6 Juniper Pug, 6 Dark Arches, 2 Plain Clay, 2 Northern Deep-brown Dart, 2 Grey Chi, 2 Golden-rod Brindle, a Beautiful YU, a Sallow and an Angle-striped Sallow.

#TeamMoth

A very smart Black Rustic

The huge Dark Sword-grass

A beautiful Angle Shades

Spotted another Light Knot-grass caterpillar feeding openly on the heather. No adults in the trap though.

A foggy morning at Mar Lodge delayed me from hiking up to my traps until it was safe, but didn't deter the moths!

586:34 Angle Shades 4, Dark Sword-grass 8, Black Rustic 1 and Small Wainscot 1 were NFM.

Also had 5 Beautiful YU, 30 Dark Arches, 1 Northern Arches and 2 Cousin German.
#TeamMoth

A slight mist this morning in Braemar after the heat yesterday. Not as thick as the Haar by the time I got to Aberdeen!

The grey form of Northern Deep-brown Dart

Minor Shoulder-knot

A Beautiful Yellow Underwing and Broad Bordered YU

A scorcher of a day at Mar Lodge, even at 8pm last night when I was setting up my traps!

But it was worth the sweaty hike through the heather, with 546:32.

31 Autumnal Rustic, a Cousin German, 5 Dark Arches, 15 Golden-rod Brindle, 2 Minor Shoulder-knot and 3 Northern Deep-brown Dart

#TeamMoth

A cobweb in the morning mist looking like strings of diamonds or pearls

Light Knot-grass moth was NFM

A lovely Sallow moth resting on the heather outside my trap

A cobweb in the morning mist looking like strings of diamonds or pearls

499:37 down on the Dee in Braemar last night. It was stunning in the mist this morning, check out these beautiful cobwebs.

Light Knot-grass was NFM (although I've found many caterpillars this summer).

Also 6-striped Rustic, 15 Pale Eggars, Juniper and Ling pugs and 16 G-r Brindle.

#TeamMoth

That's such a shame! One to add to the list for travel-trapping? It's too early for me to make a list, it'd be too long! 😅 Need to get a few more years under my belt first I think.

*Correction: November Moth is NFM (not Autumnal, or Small Autumnal as I thought). Gosh this identification business can be tricky, can't it?

Gorgeous photos!

A Grey Chi was very melodramatic and decided to play-dead on my rucksack whilst I processed my trap

A slightly worn but nicely marked Haworth's Minor

I couldn't coax this Sallow from deep in the corner of its egg box for a better photo

A very nice Golden-rod Brindle

A wonderful Friday night's trapping in Crathie gave 555:38, including a surprise Dark Bordered Beauty!

An Autumnal Moth and 8 Chestnut-coloured Carpets were NFM. I also had 4 Autumnal Rustics, 6 Golden-rod Brindles, a Grey Chi, 12 Haworth's Minors, 287 Heath Rustics and 2 Sallows.

#TeamMoth

#TeamMoth

The beady-eyed stare of a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing

Oh yeah! It's Friday night. It's the weekend. How could I nearly forget? It's #MothFaceFriday

Here's a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing looking like he got caught doing something untoward 😂