I think this is quite the most beautiful British moth. This is a male emperor moth, Saturnia pavonia. It flies in late spring and lives in upland areas. Males can be enticed into view using a pheromone which mimics the scent of a female. The males fly in the daytime but the females are said to fly only at night. I wonder if the females attract males for mating by day but then feed and lay eggs at night.
Just over a week ago I took the pheromone lure, hidden behind the bark of a small log, to Simonside near Rothbury, where I had first seen an emperor last year but this time there was no response. I moved round to Harwood Forest and within a few minutes a moth appeared. It flew around incessantly, only pausing for a fraction of a second, so this photo was the best I could do.
On Sunday I went back to Muggleswick in County Durham, which yielded the best photos last year but again drew a blank. A few miles further south I tried again on the Waskerley Way and a moth arrived within ten minutes. A few minutes later there were six, all zooming round looking for the non-existent female. They fly manically so the photography is challenging. Nearly all the photos are out of focus, or motion-blurred, or miss half the moth, or don't include a moth at all. Here are a few that turned out OK.
This was the only time I had two in the frame together.
This male discovered the lure and realised it was a con.
The others also disappeared after a few minutes so I moved a few miles west to Horseshoe Hill. There another four moths arrived to investigate so this seems to be a pretty good area for them.
One of these moths was a bit tatty and looked rather tired with all its exertions and it flopped down onto the grass for a rest so I could even get a photo with the phone.
I had taken great care not to get any trace of pheromone on me or my hands but it did accept the offer of a lift onto my hand for a photo.
My next challenge will be to find and photograph a female emperor but that won't be so easy.
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