David Bradley
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David Bradley
@sciencebase.com
700 followers 320 following 2.6K posts
UK-based wildlife photographer, moth-er, birder, singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, chorister, author, allotmenteer, pondlifer, wild gardener, husband, father, oh and 36y+ a science writer #music #science #teamMoth #UKBirding Nature Matters
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4h
Not too dissimilar to the Eurasian species we have here, Grus grus, the Common Crane
A pair of Common Crane in the Cambridgeshire fens
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 1d
The aforementioned Cypress Carpet from last night's lighting-up session. Keeping Wogan at bay along with a few others #teamMoth
Cypress Carpet moth resting on a lichen-encrusted log, I'm sure given time it could have manoeuvred itself into a position to be more aligned with the cracks in the bark and so become more camouflaged against this backdrop
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 1d
First Cypress Carpet and Sallow of the year in garden, Cambs #teamMoth 21/15

Black Rustic, Blair's Shoulder-knot, Blastobasis lacticolella, Clancy's Rustic, Clepsis consimilana, Dark Sword-grass, Eudonia angustea, Large Wainscot, LBAM, Large YU, Red-green Carpet, Shuttle-shaped Dart, Turnip
An autumnal moth known as The Sallow, Cirrhia icteritia. So-called because the larvae feed on the catkins of sallow trees. The adults are around September to October camouflaged against the yellows and browns of the autumn leaves.
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 1d
I had a Cypress last night too, here in Cambs (not NFG, but lovely nonetheless)
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 1d
I remember writing about pretty much this very same thing in The Guardian, or maybe New Scientist...around 1993...plus ca change
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 2d
I will have a look into it...thanks!
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 3d
You've obviously got a far betterb garden than me, hahaha
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 3d
Yeah, but does that mean I have to give away my hard work for free? I do plenty of charity work and have been involved in raising thousands of pounds, but if I give my personal work away for free, how do I pay my bills and cover my bar tab, haha
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 3d
You've seen 567 species of moth this year? You must have been getting out to some very different places often, especially as you said you'd not had MdJ in your garden
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 3d
They are, indeed! Astonishing little critters
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 3d
Why?
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 3d
Thank you. Lovely stuff
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Thanks for reposting, surprised you don't call it "Cri Crawlies", like "Creepy Crawlies", maybe that doesn't work stateside?
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Tonight's the night!!!
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
#teamMoth knows that Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) are so-called because they have scaly wings; lepido meaning flake or scale and ptero meaning feather, or more-so pteryga meaning wing from the Greek

So, here's a closeup of the scaly wings of that marvel of the day, the Merveille du Jour moth
Closeup of the green and black, gold and white scales on the surface of the wings of Merveille du Jour moth
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Lovely.

Not a species we get here in the UK, but we do have two among the Regulidae, Goldcrest and Firecrest
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
I've had more in my Cambs garden this year than any previous year, I think they're marching en masse now and obviously range extending widely
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Oh, I miss it...was only a month ago for us!
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Modern-day artist?
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Well, that's true. They're not absent, just very, very infrequent
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Lovely

Never had Figure of Eight. First recorded in Cambs in 1968 more recently recorded, according to Cam Moths, was 2009. So, I don't expect to
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Just realised I hadn't added GbC to the year list, so MdJ was 381st. Never had quite so many species
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
380th garden species of the year for me here in Cottenham, Cambs, VC29
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
Our nearest oaks are on the village green and that's probably just 200-300m away. Any time in October for me, usually just in ones or twos, but sometimes three or four sessions. Always still exciting to see them!
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David Bradley @sciencebase.com · 4d
22 of 15 last night #teamMoth, two of which were the year's first Merveille du Jour, also Green-brindled Crescent, Large Wainscot, the return of Clancy's Rustic. Box-tree Moth too
Two Merveille du Jour moths on a log, looking like bright green and black lichen
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