#motivational micromoth

[lycomorpha]

A tad late, but here's a motivational micro-moth for today. May we all be appreciated as much as I appreciate this moth's beautiful tuftiness. Which is a lot. 💖🦋

Image is by Patrick Clement on Flickr

[lycomorpha]

It's been too rainy to put the moth trap on for a few, so here's some moth friends from previous Mays

- Cinnabar moth

- Fluffypants aka male muslin moth

- Treble lines and brimstone

- Yellow barred brindle

- Heart & dart

- Light brown apple moths, female then male

- Treble lines again

- Setaceous Hebrew character

- Oak hook-tip

All these moths eat trees and shrubs and weeds. Their caterpillars are feeding baby birds this time of year. To help moths, and birds by proxy, if you have a garden: pls keep some weeds. Don't go wild on the tidying and pruning. Tell your friends that you're helping your local insects and indeed ecosystem. Persuade them to stop weeding and instead look out for insects and birbs. They're way more fun.

Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board 🦋🐾✨

[lycomorpha]

May we be as bold, determined, stripey and wide-eyed as a metalmark moth this year. No matter what else happens, we have moths.

Images by Budak on Flickr here and here

[lycomorpha]

May we be as beautiful and ferocious as this majestic tiny micromoth this week.

~

Pretty Micro-moth, Tortricidae by the late Andreas Kay Via Flickr: from Ecuador: www.youtube.com/AndreasKay

[lycomorpha]

I repeat my assertion that grass veneer moths always look 100% absolutely FURIOUS. Look at this garden grass veneer. Livid. I rest my case.

May we scare away any asshats that vex us today by channeling grass veneer-levels of side-eye.

[lycomorpha]

Time for my annual petition to rename grass veneer moths to furious grass veneer moths, because every single one of them is a tiny wedge-shaped ball of rage 🦋🌾😡

Look at that livid little mush. A moth that will burn down the cisheteropatriarchy with us, just as soon it can get it's paws on some tiiiny matches and the dexterity to use them.

This moth is also a good reason to keep some unmowed grass if you have a garden - even a little long grass around the edges will help this gloriously furious moth friend. And it will help in return by being part of the food chain of lots of other wildlife! Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board ✨🦋✨

[lycomorpha]

Oak lantern moths are the most delightful micro-moth friends. Look at those long antennas! The battenburg cake colouration!! I have a tattoo of this species lifecycle on my shoulder. It's such a good moth.

May we all find comfort in tiny arthropods when we need it.

To help moths like this, please look out for your local trees, and report any damage to street and park trees to you local council/equivalent. Thank you from the Moth Promotional Board 🦋✨

[lycomorpha]

This is the common tubic, colloquially known as Geoff (because its latin name is Alabonia geoffrella.)

Despite humans calling it 'common' and giving it the same name as one of my annoyingly misogynist former supervisors, this glorious moth continues to sparkle. Its teeny tiny orange and blue wings are a lesson in colour theory! & Look at those incredibly fluffy palps!! The wing-fringe!!! This particular species of Geoff is a gahdammed joy.

May we be as delightful as this micromoth, no matter how common people say we are.

~

Image by Bob Eade on Flickr

[lycomorpha]

I always think the wing markings on elderberry pearl moths look like paw-prints 🐾 It has a slight iridescence too but I can't really catch it in photos tbh.

Also 'elderberry pearl' is just a gahdammed delightful name for a species, no? May we all be spoken about in such a lovely fancy-ass way

[lycomorpha]

It's hard to get video of furious grass veneers bc they're so teeny and flighty. But I managed it occasionally - look how tetchy their faces are *tiny rawrrr!* I think this one is an elbow striped grass veneer. But they're all absolutely livid.

May we all find the ferocity of a furious grass veneer when we need it.

Also these moths are another reason to leave a little grass unmowed if you have the chance. You don't need to mow everything. Have a rest instead. Watch the long grass waving in the breeze, and think of how many delightful moths are in there.

This has been a message from the Moth Promotional Board, thank u ✨🦋✨

[lycomorpha]

Please enjoy the adorable mush on this codling moth. 💖

~

Before anyone decides to "actually..." at me:

I know. Specifically, I know that this species is an agricultural pest in some places. Because humans are great at creating large areas of monoculture, and then complaining about the wildlife that was there before them eating it. We're also great at moving species outside of their range, accidentally dumping them somewhere new and then deciding that whoopsie we created a pest. For the purposes of my mothing, that doesn't mean I'm going to squish a moth. This delightful visitor to my light trap went on about its day after this pic.

[lycomorpha]

Here is a manifestation of how I am feeling about today.

May we radiate ferocity like these tiny irate grass veneers when we need to.

[lycomorpha]

May we be as lovable as a tiny orange pine tortrix, as striking as a swallowtail moth, and as ferocious as a whole army of furious grass veneers this week 🦋💖

[lycomorpha]

This species of moth has the common name of 'rosy tabby'. I think we can all agree this is an excellent name for a gahdammed delightful moth. Wikipedia calls it the 'rosy flounced tabby,' which is also lovely but tbh I've never heard it called that irl.

May our weekends be as rosy, & may it see us safely into the weekend.

[lycomorpha]

I do believe it's Furious Grass Veneer time again!

Look at these delightfully tetchy little friends. I know they're not everyone's fav bc they're smol & common, & they look tetchy. But I am also smol and have resting grass veneer face. So I love them 🦋💖

Garden grass veneer, elbow-striped grass veneer, & I think barred grass veneer.

Sometimes I wonder how many other birds, spiders, etc rely on grass veneers as food. There's so many of them in summer, and they're tightly connected to the grasses they live in and eat. I'm willing to bet they're an important part of my garden/local ecosystem in some way.

[lycomorpha]

The weekend approaches. Maybe celebrate like a micromoth and wave ur tufted butt in the air

Image by Budak on Flickr