Thursday 3 May 2012: Longhorn Fairy Moth
Oh dear, another macro.
I suggested, to a little girl, that she looked out for the fairies flying in the woods. I described the golden wings and long antennae that glisten in the sunshine and said that I'd seen them over the past few days. Not long afterwards she caught up with me with this one in her hands.
Clever child!
This is a female Longhorn Fairy Moth, Adela reaumurella. The males have surprisingly long antennae with white tips extending to almost three times the length of their bodies and have much hairier heads. They dance together in groups between April and June and, depending on how light hits them, their wings shine in beautiful metallic greens and bronzes.
I took this one back to the car and let the youngster help me set up the shot. We borrowed a little clump of Cup Lichen from the bank, took the photograph and let the fairy fly free.
One very happy little girl, then skipped back to her Mum!
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