Scarlet tiger

If ever there was a moth that sounded Welsh, this one does, the Scarlet tiger Callimorpha dominula. As of course The Scarlets are are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams; and then there’s Tiger as in Tiger Bay (in Welsh “Bae Teigr”) a local name for an area of Cardiff which covers Butetown and the old docks. Anyways, I recall that there was one of these stunning moths on my sister’s wall. Such a bright and beautiful sight. There is was bold as brass, sunbathing (which is not normal for moths) and not moving, but did the moment I left to fetch my camera (isn’t it always the way). We hadn’t disturb it, just admired it for a while and wondered why it was there in the day time. For there’s a subtle subjective differences between moths and butterflies (apart from the one you probably well know): That moths (which this is) MOSTLY prefer to go into hiding in the daylight hours and forage at night (nocturnal). Whereas, butterflies MOSTLY prefer the sunshine to do their thing (diurnal). Another more precise clue is how each type typically hold their wings. Here take the knowledge in the form of a short poem, I’ll name it Moths Differ:

Moths tend to tent at night their wings,
To keep out the cold and camo things,
Butterflies though sunbathe or pray,
Warmed up they then will flap away.

🐛 🦋