Moist ginger cake

I first realised that my eyesight was becoming in need of 'a little help' when assisting Barry Banson in checking his Greatstone moth trap. My moving of the egg-boxes back and forwards for my eyes to better focus had him imploring me to give in and buy a pair of reading glasses. That was in 2012 and I was 53 years old. The purchase swiftly followed.

For a number of years it was just the reading of small print and the observation of micro-moths that needed a pair of spectacles to be utilised, but over the past 12 months my close vision has been getting steadily worse. Unless the printed word is of a fairly robust size I will struggle with it. And as for micro-moths...

It has come to the point where I can see the micro-moth, but make very little detail out on it, bar a general ground colour or obvious mark. The modus operandi is to pot them without any attempt at identification and put them aside. Obviously there are familiar, or large micros that will not be potted, so on a good morning I will have 10-15 moths to check. Then the fun begins.  My very old Canon 400D is still in fine working order, and together with a 60mm macro lens, and a Raynox Super Macro Conversion Lens attached, even the smallest moth is now within working sight. What was just a vague pale bit of fluff now becomes a detailed moth! The moment when I look through the camera's viewfinder is one of suspense, because up until that point the wonders that are about to be revealed have been largely hidden from my retina. The indispensable second edition of Manley, the UK Moths website and a number of regional-based sites (Norfolk Moths in particular) are a great help in identification.

Each day a few photographs elude identification. These are placed in a computer desktop folder called 'Mystery' for later perusal. And when I find myself at a loose end, or in need of a bit of lepidopteran detective work, I open it up and try to piece together exactly what it is that is before me. I must admit to finding micros a challenge. For starters, their Latin names do not stick with me. There are many of them. And they vary in colour and markings even within species. It is a learning process, and one that I have started and stopped too many times to mention.

I've currently started again...

Below are two moths from this morning, both Pammene aurita, a beautiful Tortrix that reminds me of moist ginger cake. There is some variation between these individuals, but nothing compared to that shown by many species.


Comments

Wild Stutton said…
Heading in that direction too Steve. I've just got an Olympus TG-4 and am finding it easier to take pics and work off those.
18 July 2020 at 16:47
martinf said…
Getting to 53 without reading glasses is good going. I was 42 when I got my first pair! I'm taking a lot more record shots of micros and working off those too. Oh, to be 21 again
18 July 2020 at 18:58
Skev said…
I seriously need bifocals now, though to be fair when I empty my trap these days I'm only half awake so can't see some of the smaller micros regardless. My main problem is that if I don't wear any specs, my arms are not long enough to use the camera ....
18 July 2020 at 19:42
Steve Gale said…
Seems as if we're in an ever increasing club of naturalists in need of optical assistance!
18 July 2020 at 21:02
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goldfinches and Lavender

Image
We have three medium-sized Lavender bushes in our back garden. Throughout the summer the flowers (which last for several months) are a magnet for insects and give off a most restful aroma. As tempting as it is to cut the dead stems in the autumn, we always leave them, as we know that during the late winter we will get visitors to feed on the seed heads... This video was taken from the kitchen window this morning. We will normally see one or two birds over a few days, but have had up to 14 at once. We never tire of watching them. Lavender is a wonderful plant to have in the garden, with year round natural history benefits. So what are you waiting for? They are readily available at a garden centre close to you right now! There is an historic association with Lavender in this part of northern Surrey and south London. Lavender fields have been harvested for many years, with one particular field close to Woodmansterne being very popular with day trippers. A significant proportion o
Read more

To tell it like it is, or not...

Image
I am grateful to Gavin Haig (Not Quite Scilly) who drew my attention to an opinion piece, penned by Matt Phelps, which appeared in the November issue of 'Birdwatch' magazine, entitled 'Positive Approach', which I have now read. In it, he suggests that there is too much negativity being posted on social media regarding the state of our birding world, which is then acting as a deterrent towards a younger generation in adopting conservation and wildlife study. He also suggests that a lot of this negativity is being generated by older birders, and that these old timers keep banging on about the 'good old days' which isn't helpful in encouraging the youth to pick up a pair of binoculars and get out into the field. Does he have a point? Now, I am undeniably an older birder, and I am also guilty of having posted, blogged, written and spoken about the slump in bird and invertebrate numbers. I also like nothing better than to revisit my notebooks and share in the hi
Read more

Time to reflect

I normally come up with the title for a post after I have written it. If I'm feeling creative it will be some sort of play on words, or if I'm not then an all-encompassing word or two will do. As for this particular post, and with a few things to discuss, I've written the title first, inspired by having just read a feature about musicians who have used the title of an album as the starting point for their creative exercise. Here goes... Firstly, blogs - yes, this very medium that I am writing in and you are reading from. - what content they derive, the reason that the content exists and what the writer should (or should not) expect from any reader that visits the blog. This was brought into sharp focus by a series of posts to be found here, at Jono Lethbridge's excellent 'Wansted Birder'.   His blogging output has recently included detailed and entertaining reports on his recent overseas trips which have received a bit of flak from certain quarters. None of us b
Read more