Owls & moths

Well the moth season hasn't been much better than the Barn Owl season, but I had an interesting collision of hobbies yesterday. A month ago when checking Barn Owl boxes, I'd collected some pellets to pull apart with the children. These remained in a tupperware container on the side, forgotten about but yesterday the kids said 'dad - something's hatched out of the pellets!' Sure enough, buzzing around in the box were about a dozen micro moths called Monopis laevigella (sometimes called 'Skin Moths'). The larvae of this species feed on detritus of animal origin, including carcases, faeces and pellets. Their spent pupal cases can be seen sticking out of the pellets.

Pete