14th March 2012 - Sleepers Awake!

 

Sword-grass (Xylena exsoleta) Szürke fabagoly

Since arriving in Hungary on 11th March I had noticed a few spring geometrids around the windows and settled on white-washed walls. The weather has been sunny but still with a chill in the air and cold at night and the vegetation is looking mostly quite wintry even on our S facing slope.  On the 14th though a milder evening brought a large noctuid to the kitchen window at about 9pm. This was fairly easily enticed into the house and captured as it circled the lamp. It was the Satellite (Eupsilia transversa Rozsdabarna Télibagoly) awoken from its winter sleep. Half an hour later I came into the kitchen to find J in the act of catching another moth at the window - she had trumped me with this splendid beast - it dwarfed the Satellite and looked most impressive with its wings spread in the confines of the flat.

The Geometrids seen this week were as follows:

Theria rupicapraria                    Tavaszi kökényaraszoló

Agriopis marginaria       Dotted Border  (Aranysárga téliaraszoló)

Alsophila aescularia      March Moth     (Vadgesztenye-araszoló)