Every now and then I post photos of non-lepidopteran stuff that turns up in the traps, and arbitrarily categorise them as Mothing Mates or Mothing Villains. This has no scientific basis, and is largely down to how smart they look, how likely they are to sting me, or my wholly irrational loathing of them (like Cockchafers and caddis flies). One group that falls squarely into the Villains camp are the annoying Ophion spp. This is for several reasons, including that they look mean, buzz about your face at night whilst mothing and because there are several simlar species making them almost unidentifiable. How bloody churlish is that, eh, existing in an unidentifiable state!?
Here's a classic Ophion sp., maybe
O. scutellaris (but quite possibly not).
Mean looking bugger.
This one at least has the decency to carry some identification in the form of creamy thorax markings -
O. obscuratus. I think.
Still mean looking, even with poncey braces.
Here's a classic Mothing Mate - in fact all ladybirds are.
Loads of 7-Spot Ladybirds around at the moment
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