23 August 2012
22 August 2012 – Peaceful Kittens
Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula) |
Mugshots seem appropriate for this rather beautiful insect whose name could be taken straight from this week’s headlines. The Sallow Kitten (Furcula furcula) has been recorded once before but this is the first time it has been photographed in the garden.
Carl Clerck was an entomologist who was a contemporary of Linnaeus and he gave this moth its name (fercula meaning ‘small fork’) from the two-pronged appendage on the tail of the caterpillar – rather like those of the Puss Moth. When this moth was persuaded to rest on an ash twig it went through a gentle ruffling routine as it settled. A crouch, a kneading movement with the legs and then an abrupt stop as the moth appeared to almost clamp itself in position. The Emerald moth and The Magpie both flap their wings in increasingly gentle movements as they settle – flap, flap, flap – then still. Adjustments not dissimilar to those made by dogs and cats when they settle – round, round and slump. Tiny behavioural movements that are astonishingly exact.
Recent Moths
- 25 July 2023 – Collective Noun for Hawkmoths
- MOTH LIST to August 2023 with links
- 28 July 2023 – TRIPLE New Species Alert!
- 18 July 2023 – A Golden…Plusia!
- 13 July 2023 – Arts and Sciences
- 10 July 2023 – Rise of the Yellow Underwings
- 4 July 2023 – Cold-weather Catch
- 4 July 2023 – Mother of Pearl, an Inspiration to Science
- 28 June 2023 – Buff-tipped Marble
- 23 June 2023 – Moth or Butterfly?
- 20 June 2023 – Bee, Straw, Emerald and a Ghost
- 17 June 2023 – Old and New