Je ne parle pas français

... but I do know a Merveille du Jour when I see one.

Few others can match this species for looks. I've caught one before in the garden; around about this time last year, but that still hadn't prepared me for the shear sublime nature of its plumage when I caught this moth last night.

Possibly one of the best things to come from France since Stella Artois...

What with the moth trap not likely to go out on too many more occasions this year as we head further and further into the autumn, and with nothing to do this afternoon (except for 2 Biology dissertations and a Sociology write-up which can wait until the night before their due in), I decided to do what any bored teenager does and put the data from this year's moth trapping to good use, to find out how this year faired in terms of species diversity of the moths in my garden...

The small dip in numbers in March is due to the fact that I only trapped 4 times that month, and the complete failure of a month in June has probably got something to do with the completely s@!t start to summer we experienced in terms of weather. This is only my second year of trapping, so I can't exactly compare these records to previous years. However, the general consesus is that its been a pretty crap year for moths, with many commoner species simply not appearing.

Now, what to do tomorrow? There's a Shorelark just down the road, but that would mean getting out on my bike and experiencing what they call exercise, so I probably won't do that.

Childcare

Why the lack of blog posts, you ask?

Well, I've been dedicating my time to other things, namely child-rearing. To be honest its pretty simple really, despite what others would tell you. Just put them in a cage and feed them leaves every now and again.

Now before you reach for the nearest phone to call Childline, perhaps I should point out that I am of course talking about Early Thorn caterpillars, and just in case anyone is unsure as to how a caterpillar turns into a pwetty butterfly, then observe...

A few days after hatching (15th August)...

About 20 days old...

Look at me, I'm a spiky thorn...

45 days old...

Look at me, I'm a twig...

Look at me, I'm a chrysalis...

Look at me, I'm a chrysalis inside a leaf...

60 days old...

A pwetty butterfly finally emerges (2nd generation adult Selenia dentaria to be more precise)...

A more detailed explanation of the complete process of metamorphosis can be found below...

UK400 Club

Acleris schalleriana...

... Officially the 400th species of moth caught in the garden to date.

Am I cool now?

Rare, or are they?

Rare, or are they?

If you were wondering why I haven't been posting in a while, it's because I've been staring at this photo constantly for the last two weeks, not believing I've caught this moth... 

For the night dwelling moth-trappers amongst you, I'm sure this moth will need no introduction, but all other normal people, this is a Jersey Mocha; but not just any Jersey Mocha... only the first record of Jersey Mocha for Surrey. According to the literature, it's a rare immigrant to Britain, that occasionally gets blown off course, first being recorded here in 2003.

Having this one in the garden the other week suddenly made me wonder- really just how rare are these species we would class as rare vagrants? How many potentially 'new' species to Britain have simply gone under the radar? How many Jersey Mochas have passed through Surrey un-noticed before I caught this one in the garden? Thousands, I bet.

And the scene is the same with birds. If you ever need to know the best way to make a twitcher emotionally unstable in a matter of seconds, just remind them about the Canada Warbler that will be happily singing away in an unknown hedgerow, in an unknown part of the British countryside as you speak; or the Black Woodpecker, nibbling away at some anonymous Oak tree somewhere, never to be discovered.

So get out there and start looking... although preferably not in Surrey, and preferably not in the form of a moth trap. I don't like competition.

The Many Faces of Bookham Common

The Many Faces of Bookham Common

Just in case you were starting to worry, the authorities didn't arrest me in the end for putting that Oak Processionary moth in the fridge. Thankfully, this meant I could get down to Bookham Common the other morning for the monthly field survey that takes place at this very well documented SSSI.

This month, the focus for the survey was on Grasshoppers and Bush Crickets, a group of insects that I've trodden on plenty of times whilst sweeping through fields in search of moths, but apart from that, haven't really ever given much attention to. By the end of the day, we had managed to biologically blitz our way through a healthy variety of hoppers, including these (although I take no credit for identifying them)...

Roesel's Bush-cricket...

Rufous Grasshopper, identified by the white tipped antennae, apparently...

Dark Bush-cricket...

Speckled Bush-cricket...

The main highlight of the day came when a member of the team started to lift up a large boulder along the side of the footpath (as you do) to reveal a neat female Great-crested Newt hiding under it. I've never seen one before, so it was nice to finally put a face to the animal that seems to have most conservation bodies worried out of their skin at just the mention of this little amphibians name...

We got back to the hut for lunch just in time to help Paul Wheeler (only one of the top moth recorders in Surrey) go through one of the moth traps he had set up in the woodland the previous night. The catch wasn't brilliant, but if its of any interest to anyone, the highlights did include the scarce and elusive Square-spotted Clay, a migrant White-point and some very nice Sharp-angled Carpet.

Square-spotted Clay...

White-point...

Out in the tall grasses, micro moths were easy enough to flush out. The pick of the bunch had to be this Agriphila sellasella, sporting a small ice-cream cone for a nose...

Breaking the Law

Breaking the Law

Who would have thought that such a harmless hobby could get so out of hand? When I first started, I knew I was getting myself into a commitment that may ruin my life (and my sleep pattern) for ever, but I never thought it would tip me over the edge so soon. At first I managed to keep it to a minimum, but it wasn't long before I became hooked on it all. Night after night, I'd be out there, lurking in the shadows with them until the early hours, but it seems that last night everything just went too far. They made me do it, they did. Those damned moths made me do it! An Oak Processionary moth to be precise, and last night I broke the law by putting it in fridge.

Due to the caterpillar's tendency to demolish any oak tree it can get its mouth around, and its ability to release extremely skin irritating microscopic hairs from its back, this species is very high on the list of species that many of the top environmental agencies in Britain want dead. Its not native, and although the adults do occasionally accidently come over from mainland Europe, the caterpillars of the species are thought to have arrived with a delivery of foreign oak trees into Kew Gardens. The moths are feared so much by the government, that there is even a law which makes it illegal to knowingly keep or store the moth.

I realised this a little too late after I carried out normal practise by putting the moth in the fridge (to calm it down ready for photography later of course- who do you think I am, a moth torturer?) and thus I have become a criminal.

All because of this ugly (but flippin' rare) little bugger...

I can only assume its a matter of time before the authorities will be onto me, and I wouldn't be suprised if MI5 don't already have their top covert Human Intelligence Agents watching me as I type this. I guess the best thing to do will be to go into hiding... preferably somewhere with a really good list of moths to boot. How about Portland? Or maybe Dungeness?

Hopefully I can keep you updated on my progress using these new internet connections they have on mobile cell phones nowadays, but I wouldn't hold out any hopes.

May my last words to you be this: don't start moth trapping.

An Assortment of Butter

An Assortment of Butter

Let's end July with some butterflies, eh? Overall, the weather hasn't been great for them, but on the odd occasion I've found a few have been kicking about here and there.

I was particularly pleased to find this Pained Lady a few weeks back down the local Stoke's Field. Its a migrant species, and after it has a very good influx year in 2009, 2010 was arguably one of the worst years for the species, with very few people lucky enough to see one. Perhaps we can hope for a few more in August.

These little butterflies have been arriving en masse to the garden, Gatekeeper...

I photographed this one back in June, but haven't found the right time to post it, so here it is in all its glory. A Purple Hairstreak...

And finishing off with something that I don't really take any notice of when I'm out and about... a plant. This one is a Pyramidal Orchid, but I take no credit for identifying it, looks like a pink Dandelion to me. Unfortunatly, this wasn't in the garden, but at the chalk downland site Norbury Park.

It also happens to be the Big Butterfly Count at the moment, in which you simply note down any butterfly you see at a particular place, and send in your findings to this website. If you haven't already done it, have a go... or I'll get Big Daddy Attenborough on you, and he won't be happy.

Cheers Italy

Cheers Italy

Whilst I re-consider the title of this blog to 'Bill's Mothing'- judging by the fact that I haven't done a bird post in two months- here is a rare moth which I caught at Norbury Park the other week. Its so rare that it was once considered endemic to Italy, but a few have started to turn up on the south coast of Britain in the past 10 years, confirming a tiny breeding population. Its called Metalampra italica...

Now if only we had Italy's weather at the moment, instead of their bloody moths.

The Only Way is Essex

The Only Way is Essex...

One of the two butterflies below is an Essex Skipper, and the other is a Small Skipper, but can you tell which is which?

Very similar aren't they? And from most angles, it is very hard to seperate these two species.

I photographed both of them at the beginning of last week, at a newly discovered hot spot for these small butterflies on my local urban fringe site, Stoke's Field. Grasses, wildflowers, south facing slope- all the main ingredients for perfect Skippers habitat. If there was such thing as a heaven for Skippers, this is probably what it would look like...

Essex Skippers are the more localised version of the Small Skipper, the latter of which can be found just about anywhere, but how do you know when your Skipper is from Essex? Apart from the estury accent and the 'simple' fashion sense, the best way is to look head on at the tips of the antennae. From this view, there is no mistaking the two, with Essex Skipper having all black antennae tips...

And the Small Skipper with its orangey, browny, not-black antennae tips (don't mind the poor focusing, was taken in gale force winds on top of a hill, whilst lying down in mud)...

All Black antennae tips- Essex...

Orange antennae tips- Small...

Another 'orange' Skipper, the Large Skipper, is also flying about at this time of the year in large numbers, but can fairly easily be told apart from the above two by the slight chequered markings on the wings, and, of course, the larger size...

Well now I've got that sorted out, there should be no excuses for anyone to mix up these two species ever again.

The author of this blog takes no responsibility for any mis-identifications of Essex or Small Skipper caused by reading this highly erroneous post.

Getting Horny with Clearwings

Getting Horny With Clearwings...

Back in January, I decided to buy some moth pheromones. These are naturally emitted from wild female moths to attract a mate, and can be bought from various weird entomological websites on the internet as an alternative way to attract those species which don't readily come to moth traps.

Clearwings are one such group of moths which have pheromone lures tailor-made for them. These moths are unique amongst British moths in that they don't look like moths at all, with wings that look completely clear.

Each species of this spectacular family is nationally rare, day-flying, secretive and specific to a unique habitat, making them a nightmare to record. Since they were invented some 10 years ago, pheromones have become the main method of recording the presence of the males, which are attracted to the scent, believing a virgin female is nearby.

The lure- consisting of a tube impregnated with pheromones, and a small cotton bag...

Each species (there are 15 in Britain) has its own lure specifically made for them, and based on local habitat, I decided to go for a lure that attracts Yellow-legged Clearwing and Orange-tailed Clearwing- the former being found around old oak trees, and the latter on chalk downland. I had it all planned out. Once the time was right, in mid-June, I would take the lure down to Richmond Park, which is full of old Oak trees, to see if I could find a Yellow-legged Clearwing. I would then take the lure to Denbies Hillside, a chalk downland site, with plenty of chalk, to quickly scoop up Orange-tailed Clearwing, before coming home and writing about my findings to you on this blog. In reality, neither species was seen at either site, and hopes of finding these mysterious moths were low.

A few weeks back, on a sunny afternoon with a light breeze (perfect conditions for Clearwings), I optimistically took the lure out into the garden for a laugh (yes, I am easily amused), on the off chance that either species might have been hiding right in front of me all along. I wasn't expecting anything much, but almost as soon as I hung the lure up in the flower border, an Orange-tailed Clearwing appeared, followed 5 minutes later by a Yellow-legged Clearwing. Within 15 minutes, it had turned into a full on social gathering for the moths, which was a bit of a suprise considering the garden's lack of suitable habitat for both species; especially the Orange-tailed Clearwing, which very rarely strays from chalk soils.

Orange-tailed Clearwing...

An idea of size...

Yellow-legged Clearwing- a wasp mimic...

That distinctive clear-wing...

The lure in action...

With load of pumped up, hormonal male Clearwings about, I figured it was best to break things up before it all got out of control, so in the lures came, and as quickly as they appeared, the secretive little moths disappeared off into the undergrowth, to carry on their secretive lives.