« summer jin and jang | Main | dave and em »

does anyone know what this white insect is ? our friend ian spotted it but didn't know what it was, and wondered if any of the nature-loving (or hating!) funkypancake readers knew what it was. apparently it was a few centimetres long and had two sets of wings.

was it an angel do you think ?

White%20insect-1.jpg

any thoughts greatfully received via comments or email

6 Comments

kit said:

I think it is a white plume moth.

darren Author Profile Page said:

Miranda agrees that it is a white plume moth. She found one in her garden a few years ago and had to look up what it was!

funkypancake Author Profile Page said:

fantastic - i knew you guys would know what it is ! it's great being able to reverse-search on the Internet !

Alan said:

Yes, undoubtedly a plume moth, just one of several different species that occur in Britain. Afraid it doesn't have a nice common name, only a posh Latinised one of Alucita pentadactyla (because the wings are divided into 5 "fingers"). The caterpillar feeds on Bindweed. Lovely photo of a beautiful moth, especially when seen under a microscope. Well done!

BW Author Profile Page said:

I'm not sure what it is, but I know one thing. It's definitely NOT a white plume moth. No, I'm kidding, it really is a white plume moth.

I'm pretty sure in about a week you'll come up as the number one search for the term "white plume moth".

shorely Author Profile Page said:

You're right BW... all these "white plume moth" comments have sent this page soaring, though not quite the top spot, to page3 of a standard Google search!

Leave a comment