Angle Shades
Phlogophora meticulosa
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Rests with its wings rolled and creased so it looks exactly like a withered leaf.
An unmistakable moth: pinkish-buff and olive forewings marked with a bold dark triangular wedge, held at rest in a way that curls and pleats the wing margins so the whole insect looks like a shrivelled dead leaf. Angle shades are common in gardens, hedgerows and waste ground around Dumfries and are frequently found resting in plain sight by day on walls and fences.
Behaviour
The leaf mimicry is unusually good and the moth relies on it completely, sitting motionless in the open rather than hiding. Adults are on the wing over a long season and are supplemented by migrants from the continent. The caterpillar is a smooth green or brown larva that feeds on a very wide range of plants and can be found in almost any month of the year.
When to see it
Quick facts
- Family
- Owlet moths (Noctuidae)
- Wingspan
- 4.5–5.5 cm
- Status
- Native, plus migrants; common
Photo by Olei, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons