I was in the process of gathering a string of Honeysuckle with mum, to adorn my Beltane hat in advance of this evening's performance - when I came across this battered soul resting on the lawn in the front garden.
Thinking he had already expired, I scooped him up and as I did so, his damaged left wing flickered for a time before he settled down again on my fingers.
Thinking he had already expired, I scooped him up and as I did so, his damaged left wing flickered for a time before he settled down again on my fingers.
Scarlet Tiger moths fly during the day and are seen from May to July in the South of England. They are said to prefer damp meadows and rocky cliffs, but this was resting rather ordinarily somewhere between the Forsythia and the path, no water or were cliffs nearby.
Unlike many butterflies which fly-off at the first sight of your shadow, they don’t flit about but instead stay peculiarly still, as if sleeping. You can move and get very close to them. This one suddenly became quite bold as I peered at him and examined his underparts.
As if resurrected, he shot up my arm, investigated my bracelets and then jumped over to my hat, landing on it quite magnificently (while doing his best to blend-in to the other bits and pieces I have collected and pinned on there over the past few months).
Although clearly not in good shape, the moments when he did stay still provided me with an opportunity to linger and admire his beauty. The wings were an iridescent black-green and were marked with dark yellow, orange and mucky white. The under-wings were a rich scarlet, marked with black.
The caterpillars feed on a variety of plants, favouring comfrey, nettles and bramble. Unusually for moths, Scarlet Tigers have developed mouth parts which allow them to feed on nectar. While looking into this further, I have discovered that some moths do not eat AT ALL as adults, but live on the stored fat they built up when larvae. Therefore, they live to breed and once that job is done, they die. Apparently, this isn’t unusual for some types of insect, for example crane fly adults have a similar life and also don’t eat.
I eventually placed him back carefully from where I found him, then raced off to my gig in Dawlish, which was a hot and balmy affair. We stayed late into the evening, singing softly and drinking cool cider. Tonight I found myself realising, among many other remarkable things in Devon, how much I'd miss this eccentric group of wonderful people.
I'll go back in the morning and see how he fared overnight.
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