Moths

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

moths.. AKA the BANE of FEMALE kind...

im not really sure why people fear these little critters.. maybe its becuase they have a much more powerful flight than the butterfly and people are scared they might be something thats really worth being scared of...

recently ive taken a more active note of what moths fly into my room as a couple of months ago a heard a donking sound on the glass of my window and when i looked is saw a MASSIVE moth.. it flew away but i couldnt tell what it really was. it has a wingspan of about 4-5inches..

after seeing images like these


http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/untitled-7.jpg

http://magickcanoe.com/moths/schinia-07-2008-1-large.jpg

http://www.grosse.is-a-geek.com/robopics/blogimages/20070613elephant_hawk_moth.png

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/Oleander_Hawk-moth1.jpg

http://www.surfbirds.com/blogs/Frampton25/archives/Garden-Tiger-Moth-DSCN9124.jpg

http://www.biolib.cz/IMG/GAL/16548.jpg

http://www.redorbit.com/modules/reflib/article_images/45_a7b3c2ac1854fd5873578b31b765459a.jpg

if anyone asks.. yes that is a real photo of a real moth ^^


im starting to wonder.. if moths werent nocturnal.. would we appreciate them like flutterbies? what ive found is that unlike butterflies who are set in their markings and designs and colours.. moths. oth the same type can have different markings and designs and varying degree of colour.. most of us see the little brown moth .. or the big brown moth flying around and dont really think much of it when whcking them with a slipper.. and tbh i dont really think moths should be treated the same as we would say a spider..

anyway.. the other night a massive moth flew into my room.. wingspan of about 3-4 inches and so i got my DSLR out.. on trying to identify it.. ive come to a conclusion..

its definately NOT lesser yellow underwing (1inch in size ish) VERY common in the uk.

but it is of this census.. i havent been able to find information on whether the larger yellow underwing and the greater yellow underwing are the same moth but from souces on the web

the larger yellow underwing
(very common in the uk.. in fact many farmers consider their caterpillar a pest)
this is likely to be the normal big brown moth that flies into your room..
have a wing span of like 2 inches.. sometimes bigger

but in the US there is much talk of a GREATER yellow underwing which is the kinda of size as i have described. i was unable to get any photos of it in flight and i safely released it as the GREATER yellow underwing was described as RARE..

photos..

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/31SG102192.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/24SG102205.jpg

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/19SG102199.jpg

ok now for tho who are wondering what this looks like in flight...? well i never took any of my own as it was pretty hard to climb about in my messy room.. bu i found one.. and this is another reaon why i like moths.. almost all moths are colourful .. its just they never show you their true colours as theyre hidden upder their top wings..

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/KK2KQK2KRKAK7KZS1QZSVQZS1Q1KZK9KHKW.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/50TQ80JQN0S090YRXQTRJK9R3KNRJK9RFKT.jpg

if anyone else with a DSLR can get some high quality snaps of some moths you have flying around in the eve.. feel free to upload them as im pretty interested atm.. apparently the deaths head hawk moth (very big.. about 5 inches wingspan),

http://www.butterflyutopia.com/BIG/death-head-moth-big.jpg
and the elephant hawk moth are appearing around the UK as well as many other interesting types..
http://www.ourwildlifephotography.com/gallery_insects/insects_elephant_hawk_moth.jpg


the uk is a pretty good country for moths.. if you hadnt noticed already!!

from what i understand there are very little mths at all that are dangrous.. (some have dust/hairs that can cause rashes and irritations to skin and are slightly toxic and in extreme can be deadly but its highly unlikely to find this from what i understand the Oak Processionary Moth has recently been introduced into the uk and is prob the only i know of that can cause and harm.. but even then its poisonous catapillars that you need to watch out for)

[Charlotte]

I can't handle moths. Makes me shiver just looking at those pictures. Amazing colours though.

[Janesy B]

I caught quite a big moth once. Almost big enough to throw a saddle on it and ride it around the office.

[kylzer]

Hate moths but not as much as crane flys ewwww.

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

i like colourful things like.. lasers.. sherbert.. skittles.. and girls.. they make me want to lick them.. i need skittles.. doooofff



Hate moths but not as much as crane flys ewwww.


tell me about it.. personally i hate buzzy/ bitey things which look upon me as a snack..

[IainK]

arnt moths and butterflies technically the same thing, like toads and frogs, its just ones which look a certain way and come out at night, we call moths,a nd the nicer looking daytime sunshine ones we call butterflies?

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

arnt moths and butterflies technically the same thing, like toads and frogs, its just ones which look a certain way and come out at night, we call moths,a nd the nicer looking daytime sunshine ones we call butterflies?


nope.. moths are very very different from flutterbies..

other than that theyre both insects that fly..

[snakedoc]

Why do Moths fly with their legs so far apart?

Have you seen the size of mothballs?

[jaymyer79]

I love moths and don't see what there is to be scared of. But, I guess someone who's not scared of spiders, could say the same about me.
I haven't had a moth in my room for ages come to think of it. Next time, I'll try and get a good snap. Some of the pictures you've posted showcase some beauties :-)

[system7]

We used to get those huge pink 3" elephant hawk moths round the shaving mirror at the campsite in the South of France when the light was on. All a bit alarming because there were little scorpions under the sink too. They sting like a bee, according to the farmer...:think:

One night the youngsters ran screaming from the caravan. An insect the size of a bird had fluttered in. I think it was the 5" Emperor moth, but that's a complete guess. :D

[aspdend]

I've got no problem with moths at all - we get quite a few at home and most are the normal brown ones (not an expert here!!) but would love to see a few of them with bright colours flying around the place!!

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

Why do Moths fly with their legs so far apart?

Have you seen the size of mothballs?


LMAO xD..

i used to have a problem with moths but ive come to appreciate them.. where my room is often so hot window open liight on late nights.. my room gets FILLED with them..

[thehitmen]

Nice Colours :)

But if they land on my desk or near me, its Newspaper time for them!

And Broadsheet newspaper at that!

[Naphta]

Nice Colours :)

But if they land on my desk or near me, its Newspaper time for them!

And Broadsheet newspaper at that!
The complete works of Shakespeare here, and thats no small book.

[snakedoc]

The complete works of Shakespeare here, and thats no small book.

Hard back or paperback?

[boxrick]

Some of these are absolutely fantastic shots, never even realised moths came in such an array of colours... Have to try and grab a macro shot next time one of these flutters in my house if my housemate or girlfriend don't end up killing them!

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/SG102218.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/SG102226.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/SG102258.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/SG102242.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/SG102255.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/SG102229.jpg

in plain eye sight (the most natural to eye image is the first one) this moth looks grey/brown but under the camera flash the dust is like metallic reflecetive and shines gold.. i took these early this morning and thought that this as a pretty interesting moth. its about 1" in length and has a 2.5" wingspam. not sure what cencus it is but it looks awesome. for the record its under wings were white.

[Mr Grapes]

Had never seen or heard of elephant hawk moths until several weeks ago, one our cats brought a caterpillar in from the garden. It was HUGE! about 2" long and 1/2" thick. ugly too... I took a bunch of photos of it, and identified it as the elephant hawk. going over to where kitteh was most interested, and there were another 3 of them... all munching away at a fuscia, which is their main food source.

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

yeh many capatillers are considered to be pests though many pooplee and kittehs kill rare and endangered species

[Mr Grapes]

kitteh didn't injure the caterpillar, just played with it. this thing was really meaty!

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

youre lucky to have elephant hawk moths around theyre pretty< theyre the green pink and white ones are are pretty big, 3-4 inch wingspans

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

last night i heard a donk at the window.. oh how i feel silly for not having a dslr atm :(

scary eh? this is known as a cinnabar

http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/4421/dsc02732o.jpg

http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/1994/dsc02710di.jpg

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/2731/dsc02717g.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/255/dsc02729u.jpg

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/6268/dsc02727e.jpg

with flash :/ this kinda shows the tonal differences with it's underwings as theyre not the same colour red. the underside is red and the markings on its upper wings are but its underwings were slightly pinkish and the markings closely resembled love hearts :D

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/9460/dsc02726la.jpg

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

wow near 8500 views :P this must be quite popular ;D

[randommagik6]

I'm sure it is when half the image url's are broken :rolleye:

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

lol most likely xD

[Darker X]

and all the time that moth was thinking "Dam these are big hands!!" :P nice stuff ^^

[I3R0K3N7FEET]

a monster moth i saw tonight. it looks like some common moth only HUGE, not sure what species it is if someone wants to help out? this moth easily had a wingspan of 3-4", for reference, in the first photo, the piece of wood it is on is part of the door's architrave which was a good 2" of so wide. its underwings were pure black with golden brown tips, again i failed to take a photo of them. :(

getting a new camera soon so hopefully more Hq shots to come.



http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/DSC03867.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/DSC03868.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/DSC03869.jpg

http://i695.photobucket.com/albums/vv318/I3R0K3N7FEET/DSC03870.jpg