Adela croesella and more!

The weather continues to be kind to us here in Worcester, and it was yet another warm, sunny and humid afternoon. I spent most of it traversing the hedgerows and fields around Rushwick, a village east of Worcester, in search of all things that crawl or fly.

Out in the grassland Diamond-back Moths continue to dominate over everything. Several would come bursting out from the sward with every footstep, and one can only begin to imagine how many hundreds of millions are involved in this particular migration event. Cuckoo flower has almost gone over for another year, but small numbers of Cauchas rufimitrella were still clinging to the few plants that remain in flower, providing an easy meal for several freshly White-legged Damselfly that patrolled the grasses. The hedgerows were brimming with insects, perhaps the most surprising of all being a Scarce Fungus Weevil perched out in the open on an alder sapling - the first I've seen and an impressive beast.

Star of the show had to be the spectacular Adela croesella, several individuals of which were displaying to each other above the lime trees. The males, with their long antennae, look too dainty to fly well, but get too close with a camera and they'll quickly flutter up to the canopy out of reach of a photo. Every now and again, one would settle on a leaf at eye-level, giving me the chance to fully appreciate the stunning iridescent purple and gold markings on their wings.

Adela croesella

Diamond-back Moth

Cauchas rufimitrella

White-legged Damselfly

Scarce Fungus Weevil

Brooklime