All about nursing – Learning & Sharing
Up and over, down and up, now you see it an now you don’t, so flashes the Long-tailed Skipper, in an out of the bushes and flowers. But suddenly you see it lighting on a beautiful flower like a thirsty boy or girl lighting on an ice-cream soda. Its whole body quivers with ecstacy as the long tongue sips up the nectar. Now you can catch it while it is so forgetful, though that would be really not sporting!
Continue reading “Long-Tailed Skipper / 长尾弄蝶 (Family Hesperiidae, Skippers)”
This huge tiger moth, with a wingspread of sometimes two and a half inches or more is a lover of the cold north, for it is found everywhere in northern Europe, Northern Asia, and northern America. It is subject to considerable size and color variation due to different climates in the northern lands. Some places it has a wings spread of only about two inches and the hind wings are pink with black spots instead of yellow, while the forewings have much darker brown markings than those shown in the picture. This second form would be more likely to live in the dark woods where such darker colors would give it better camouflage whereas the first and larger form would live in more open places where lighter form would live in more open places where lighter colors are helpful.
Continue reading “Great Tiger Moth 灯蛾/ Arctia Caia (Family Arctiidae, Tiger Moths)”
Among the most mysterious and beautiful of all moths are the Catocalas or Under-wings. These moths rarely come to light, but can be trapped by putting out a sweet bait of mashed bananas, stale beer and molasses on logs and trunks of trees in a forest or woods. This bait should be put out just before dusk. Then, when you come with a flashlight to the bait, you will often be rewarded by seeing underwings sipping daintily around the border of the bait. Some even become half-drunk with the delicious mixture and stagger about when they try to fly!
Continue reading “Pure Under-Wing / Catocala Pura 猫尾蛾 (Family Noctuidae, Nocturnal Moths)”
This is the only little blue butterfly we have with such bright red spots on the blue wings. This gives this butterfly one of the best disguises against enemies. Watch one of these little blues as it wings its way through a meadow. You see the bright reddish-pink spots on its wings flashing in the sunlight like dots of fire. Then the butterfly lights on a leaf or stem and folds its wings over its back. Even if you actually see this happen it is hard to believe in such a sudden change. Where there was a dashing, brilliantly colored butterfly a moment before, now is only a drab little creature, almost invisible among the plants where it has lit. What an excellent bit of camouflage!