Day 332 - Isometricaly Perfect Iron Prominents

Iron Prominent - (Notodonta dromedarius)

Hey everyone today's Day 332 and 47 days ago, I went to the Nosterfiled Nature Reserve Open Day at, you guessed it, Nosterfield. Now, the reason I was there is because I am a volunteer there. It is really fun to do that and help out the community and look after such a fantastic place. Now, every volunteer was given a specific job to do. Now, me and my Dad were given the lovely job of  helping to sort out moths from the Moth trapping. This was great for me as it was an amazing opportunity for me to see a lot of moths, learn lots about them from all the posts I've been able to do.

So, today's will be on the Iron Prominent Moth and here are the facts:

• They have a wingspan of  35mm to 45mm, modest for some Prominent moths which can be up to 65mm!

• In most parts of the United Kingdom there are two broods of this Moth. That is, everywhere apart from in the North of England and Scotland.

View from above

• They are seen everywhere, but like a lot of moths I cover, they are most common in England and Wales, and less common in Ireland Scotland.

• Now, the two broods that I am talking about, the first brood is seen flying from May to June and apparently the other brood is seen from June to July.

• The caterpillar, in common with a lot of the other Prominent Moths, has several humps on its back.

• Adding a bit more to the caterpillar, from my research it seems it sometimes has the same colouring as the adult moth and sometimes is quite green but with bits of brown.

And a bugs eye view :-)

• Now, these colours are Brown, Red and an Irony colour. I am guessing this is where they get their name from.

• The larvae, or caterpillar in the Moth's case, feeds primarily on Oak, Birch and Alder trees, Mostly on Birch.

• They are seen mostly in Broad-Leaved Woodland, Heathlands, River Banks and sometimes they visit people's gardens.

Here are a few links to some more information:

NatureSpot - Iron Prominents

Wikipedia - Iron Prominents

UK Moths - Iron Prominents

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.