9 March 2015

9 March 2015 – Stirrings Still

Shoulder Stripe (Earophila badiata)

Last year (10 April 2014) the Shoulder Stripe was recorded as a new species for Shandy Hall. However the scientific name was different (Anticlea badiata) and its derivation was linked to Ulysses, war and grief.  In this alternative version (Earophila badiata) a different identity is conjured up and one that is more appropriate to the location of this photograph.  The Shoulder Stripe was spotted at 10am this morning in Kersey, Suffolk – one of the prettiest villages in England. The timbered houses crowd up to the ford (The Splash) and scramble up the hill to the magnificent, flint-napped church, passing on the way a road-sign of a blazing torch with the word ‘Children’ beneath. This village is of another era.

The moth had been lured to this location by an outside light and it had clamped itself onto the plaster close to the front door of one of these ancient buildings. I hope its camouflage (badiata – bay-coloured) will keep it safe until nightfall for it loves the Spring (from the Greek ‘ear‘) and this morning was one of the most perfect of the season yet to come.

Recording a moth in Suffolk for a blog that is based in Yorkshire needs a connection and there is one.  Kersey cloth – a dense, warm woollen cloth – was made in the village in medieval times.  Another location was Calderdale.