David Element
Wildlife Photography and Digital Video Images
_____________________________________________________________________Moths
78 – Old Lady Moths
OLD
LADY MOTH Mormo maura
OLD LADY MOTHS Mormo
maura
·
The Old
Lady Moth Mormo maura belongs to the family Noctuidae (Amphipyrinae), and it is readily identifiable once settled. If a
large, and apparently very dark moth flutters past at night, almost bat-like,
then there is a good chance that it will prove to be a member of this species –
but often this will be the full extent of a sighting. As the Old Lady isn’t
normally attracted to artificial light, sugar or wine-ropes are sometimes used
to attract it, and it will also feed at naturally occurring sap-runs. One of
the above photographs shows a cluster of five of these moths roosting together
underneath the roof of a garden shed. Presumably there is security in numbers,
or perhaps this could be a method of temperature regulation. One could be
forgiven for thinking that this arrangement might have been designed to present
the impression of one very large moth! The above photographs have been scanned
from old transparencies, and slightly enhanced to clarify the detail. The
larvae have catholic tastes, eating a variety of plant species.
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