Acronicta leporina: the miller -


People with the name Miller are usually given the nickname of dusty, a throwback to the days when each town, and even village, would have had their own flour mill powered by water or wind. Naturally, the chap who tended the mill would get covered in a fine white/grey powder from the milling process. One look at this moth, then, and it is not hard to see how it became known as the miller (Acronicta leporina). The miller is predominantly has a greyish white colouring with occasional black marks on the forewings. It has a slightly furry head to compound the connection with milling as it looks as if the covering on the head could well be flour! The underwings are shining white.

Flying from late May until early August this is a nocturnal species which you may discover at rest by day. The one I discovered had found a white background to rest on to try and hide itself from potential predators. A widespread species found in a variety of scrubby habitats which would readily include a garden with lots of shrubs although they are generally associated with birch and alder. The larvae overwinter as a pupae ready to emerge in spring.


 


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