Moth of the moment – Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula)

As autumn rolls on the number of specimens and the diversity of moths to the scientific trap tend to fall. The dedicated keep lighting up for rarities, vagrants, and of course, the Sallows, the Thorns, later the Merveille du Jour moths and then the December Moths.
Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula) on a chunk of bark, proper shot, taken after the safety shot
That said, it was warm yesterday and stayed balmy all night (minimum of 16 Celsius) albeit a bit wet at some point. So, 93 specimens of 24 species, which is quite a high for mid-September, I think especially given that it was down to 10 species of 35 moths previous trapping night.
Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula) in the lid of the moth pot, safety shot
A new one for me was Beautiful Hook-tip (Laspeyria flexula). It flies June to August and then a small, second brood emerges in September. Increasingly common, the larvae eat lichen growing on a wide range of trees.
Now, some people might wonder why this one is called the Beautiful Hook-tip. Well, it’s got those hooked tips to its wings. but is it beautiful? It certainly is, like any creature created by millions of years of evolution, but also just look at the symmetry, the geometry, the subtle colours and hues of those wings, especially the rusty edges of the forewings curving inwards from their hooked tips. How can you not see that as beautiful?

Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - September 16, 2019 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Sciencebase Source Type: blogs