20 June, 2017

World's sharpest moth

On Sunday evening I parked up at Whiteways Viewpoint and went for a long walk through the army ranges towards Mupe Bay. It was a super route that took in dreamy views towards Worbarrow Bay, remote empty beaches, steep clifftop strolls and rolling countryside vistas towards Poole Harbour. It also led me to stumble into the gorgeous Cynaeda dentalis, a rare moth of calcareous grassland and cliffs along the south coast that has an unusual arrangement of scales that actually make it look spiky and jagged. Perhaps, maybe, possibly a visual defence against predators, or am I just being silly?

 Cynaeda dentalis

 Pyramidal Orchid above Worbarrow Bay

 Bee Orchid growing on the Flower's Barrow, an Iron Age hill fort on the high ridge above Worbarrow Bay

 Field Mushrooms were growing in odd clumps along the cliff tops


No comments: