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A Special Moth (58)
Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3821 W: 190 N: 11376] (35063)
We are back after spending a few days on the island of Öland off the SE coast.

I would like to thank all who visited my gallery while I was away.

Öland is 137 km (85 miles) long and only 16 km (10 miles) wide at the widest point. After Gotland it is the second largest island in Sweden and like Gotland, it consists of limestone.
The southern half of the island has a unique environment consisting of partly open flat limestone called the Alvar. This provides a unique habitat that is world famous with a very interesting flora and fauna.
This little moth is a part of this marvellous wildlife:

Parmelia Footman (Setina roscina)
Swedish name: Mindre borstspinnare.

This moth has a wingspan of about 2cm. Though it is quite plentiful on the Alvar in Scandinavia it is only found in Öland and sparsely in Gotland.

It belongs to the Tiger moth family (Arctiidae) and is sparsely distributed in Europe and N. Asia where the habitat is right. The larval food consists of various species of lichens that grow in profusion on the limestone rocks. It flies in late may and June. The males are seen flying low over the ground to occasionally settle on the vegetation. The females tend to remain on the ground and fly little.

The WORKSHOP shows how it normally settles. the main image shows an inusual open-wing view.

The English name refers to the type of lichen that the larvae feed on and the Swedish name refers to the brush-like tip of the male abdomen.

This was taken with the camera hand-held at a distance of 1.8 meters (6 ft). After moderate cropping and size reduction the image was selectively sharpened.

This species is a first on TN
Altered Image #2

Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3821 W: 190 N: 11376] (35063)
Adjusted highlights
Edited by:goutham_ramesh Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 778 W: 152 N: 2579] (10360)
Felt the picture was bit dark , so i adjusted the highlights to bring the attention to main subject and recomposed the picture.
Altered Image #1

Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3821 W: 190 N: 11376] (35063)
Edited by:Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3821 W: 190 N: 11376] (35063)
Another view of this little moth that usually settles with the wings folded like this.