A dozen of my pictures have just been sent off to be featured in a forthcoming Swedish guide on moths and butterflies. Looking forward to that. When the book is printed, I'll blog it. While you are waiting, enjoy one of the featured individuals - a Brindled Beauty, photographed in Trondheim, middle Norway April 2009.

Updated October 2011: The book was published in May, and is a great fieldguide! It has high quality pictures of all species (covering most Norwegian species as well) in natural resting positions. The book is possible to order from www.sverigesfjarilar.se/

Some moths have developed extraordinary strategies as a result of climatic challenges during early spring. Cold weather and absence of food forces the moths to spend their energy resources with concern. To cope with these obstacles females in some species produce only vestigial wings. Instead they allocate these resources to egg production. These females does not look very much like moths, but when studying them at close range, you'll see the lepidoptera-scales covering the animal.

During dark spring evenings females come out from their day-hides in between leaves on the ground, behind bark etc., and climb the tree-trunks. Then they release feromones to attract the flying males. Several males can be attracted to a single female.

The picture to the right show the abdomen of a female March Moth (vintermåler) Alsophila aescularia photographed on the foundation wall of my house in Bergen, western Norway 3 March 2011. In this species the female has no wings at all. This feature, combined with the hairy abdomen, distinguishes it from other flightless female moths. The imago March Moth is active during March and April, lay their eggs and die. During the spring and summer a small green larvae will hatch, feed (on common species such as Birch and Hazel) and grow, and in proper time before winter it will pupate and hibernate as such during the winter. One of the most stunning moths in the Norwegian fauna! This strategy can be found in several spring-species, but is even more common in species active as imagos during the autumn.

I just posted some pictures from a Christmas-trip to Morocco back in 2005, including a couple of the stunning Waldrapp, Northern Bald Ibis. It is a critically endangered species on the global red list of threatened species. We visited Tamri, just north of Agadir, and got great views of a flock feeding on a field near a roost. Morocco is a great birding country, with an impressive variation in habitats and bird species.

In April I will go there again. This time it is together with a hurd of gull-maniacs. Looking forward to that!

More pictures from Morocco