Mind My Antennae - Strange moth

[Geoff F]

At this time of the year I see the odd one or two of these strange moths in wooded areas. The moth is around 10 mm wing length but the male antennae are over four times the body length.



They are called Nemophora degeerella.

Don't worry about the photo quality; these are impossible to photograph correctly. They live in darkish surroundings and have shiny golden areas which catch the slightest light and cause over exposure.

In this case, I used flash with a compensation of -2 (F14 & 1/200) to produce a darkish image then gradually increased the brightness a little, but it's head is still blown. A high ISO and no flash doesn't work as well as this; at least not for me.

[ktuli]

The fact that the antennae goes right to the very corner of the shot, and leaves the frame, it honestly looks like a PP mistake... If it weren't for the other OOF one, I'd say you doctored this... Just kidding.

Seriously though, I do find that antennae distracting.

- Bill