Butterflies and Moths ~ Burnet Moth at Carlton Marshes

My apologies for flitting about all over the place with my posts at the moment! I am interspersing my Scottish holiday photos with the wildlife I see around me here in Suffolk. It is proving to be a wonderful time for new sightings, not to mention warm sunshine (understatement!).

The Suffolk Wildlife Trust site at Carlton Marshes proved to be a good place for Burnet Moth sightings. We always used to enjoy seeing these dazzling creatures on the cliffs in Cardiganshire, so we are pleased to have found a more local habitat now that we live in East Anglia.

Unlike the Cinnabar Moth (another striking red species) which flies by night, the Six-Spot Burnet Moth is a day-flying insect. It does not always have six spots - I thought I counted more than six - and in some cases one spot will merge into another. These moths live in colonies, and we saw many pairs mating, like the ones above, as we scanned the long meadow grass.  

David striding out at Carlton Marshes ...

According to the Arkive site, wild thyme is one of the moth's favourite foods. I did not see any thyme, but the moths seemed quite content with thistle, a variety of purple vetch and bright yellow Bird's Foot Trefoil, this last flower being the one on which eggs are laid. 

I am intrigued by the little orange spots on the antennae of the moth in the photo below. At first I presumed they were pollen, but then I wondered if they might be a parasite. I would be grateful for any answers!  

I was interested to see this orange moth (below) heading towards the Burnet on its thistle. The new arrival turned out (I think) to be a Small Skipper. It looked like a moth to me, with its furry features, but I understand it is a butterfly. In any case it is a Lepidoptera along with other butterflies and moths.

Strangely, there is a creature called a 'Burnet Companion' ... but I have yet to see one of these moths. The orange insect below is the Skipper again.

Bird's Foot Trefoil, the plant on which Burnets lay their eggs

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Butterflies and Moths (12): National Moth Week (in North America)

One of many moths in our home last night ...

I know shamefully little about moths!

I could identify a brightly-coloured Burnet moth or a Cinnabar moth, but that is about all. I wasn't even sure when I began to type this post whether the offspring of the moth in the photo above were about to eat my clothes. It's about time I learned a bit more.

It is National Moth Week in North America, and although I'm UK-based, it seems a good idea to join in. I am very grateful to the self-styled novice naturalist of Rambling Woods for her inspiring post.

I have been an admirer of Canadian naturalist, Seabrooke Leckie's blog, The Marvelous in Nature, for some time now. You can read her post for National Moth Week here. Seabrooke has just co-authored The Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America with David Beadle. 

Enjoy moth-spotting, and keep an eye on your wardrobe!*

Our colourful Burnet Moths

* Note: Our UK clothes moth (Tineola biselliella - or Tineola bis-selliella, according to The Independent) does not flutter around our lights. It seeks out dark places like wardrobes for breeding. The egg-laying female is surprisingly small, perhaps a centimetre in length. After some days her eggs, often laid on our natural fibres, start to hatch into larvae. These can spend a year or two eating away at our best clothes! I will try to ensure that wardrobe doors are kept closed ...