`Rambo the Moth`

 Late in July, I cleaned out a nestbox that had held a pair of great tits, putting the old nest into a large plastic container to see what invertebrates came out of it. I subsequently forgot about it until two weeks ago, when I saw several Monopis adults sitting quietly on the inside of the container. I potted up two and placed them into the fridge. Only today (ie two weeks later) did I get around to looking at them but, as soon as they were taken out of the fridge, they were far too active in the small glass containers to photograph. I put one into the freezer, accepting that it might be `bumped off` by such treatment. After some 30 minutes, I took out the moth and took the required photos and during that process, parts of the moth started to move. Initially, I thought that it was just the thawing of the moth - but it was `coming alive` again. My guilt of being `Dr Mengele of the moth world` was subsequently assuaged by its resurrection. The second moth was only put into the freezer for about 5 minutes, sufficient to cool it down for photography.

These Monopis must be `real tough moths`, putting up with weeks without sustenance and then a period of freezing conditions.

Above: the temporarily cooled-down moths. The smaller pale tornal spot suggests M. laevigella (aka the `Skin Moth`).