Green Carpet

There is a whole group of moths called “carpets”. This is nothing to do with what their larvae eat. Indeed, there are only a very limited number of moths, possibly just one in the UK, that eat wool or textiles.

No, these moths are called carpets because when they were identified and scientifically named carpets were luxury items and the naturalists wanted to honour the beauty of these little creatures by naming them after something luxurious. This Green Carpet was drawn to the actinic light in our back garden last night and photographed this morning.
Colostygia pectinataria.

Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - September 13, 2020 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Sciencebase Source Type: blogs