Some Moths during October

 Whilst some interesting migrant moths are still being reported from coastal areas, my moth trapping season, 16 miles inland, seems to be petering out. Even with some mild overcast nights during October, my catches have been small but with a few seasonal favourites turning up.

Merveille du Jour (Dichonia aprilina)

Black Rustic (Aporophyla nigra)

Brindled Green (Dryobotodes eremita)

L-album Wainscot (Mythimna l-album)

Feathered Thorn (Colotois pennaria) (male)

Red-green Carpet (Chloroclysta siterata)

Boxworm (Cydalima perspectalis)

(normal and dark forms)

Riband Wave (Idaea aversata) (form remutata) 

(partial second brood)

Double-striped Pug (Gymnoscelis rufifasciata)

(partial third brood)

Some Moths during September

 The weather during September was rather changeable and marginal when it came to deciding whether to put the moth-trap out. The catches were dominated by Yellow Underwings and Boxworm Moths, the latter of which is starting to turn up regularly and in multiple numbers at my light trap.

Although not uncommon, the Orange Swift (Hepialus sylvina) and Barred Hook-tip (Watsonalla cultraria) made their first ever appearance in my wealden garden.

The Lace Border (Scopula ornata) is a nationally scarce moth of chalk grassland and Bob found a couple of colonies on the East Sussex downs a year or two ago. He kindly took me on a tour of one of these sites and managed to find a few second brood individuals for me to see.

Orange Swift (Hepialus sylvina) (female)

Barred Hook-tip (Watsonalla cultraria) (female)

Oak Hook-tip (Watsonalla binaria) (male)

Autumnal Rustic (Eugnorisma glareosa)

Feathered Gothic (Tholera decimalis) (female)

Rosy Rustic (Hydraecia micacea)

Delicate (Mythimna vitellina)

Pale Mottled Willow (Paradrina clavipalpis)

Lace Border (Scopula ornata)

Autumn on Pevensey Levels

 Whilst the arrival of Autumn is signalled by a change in the weather and day length, I always feel that the season has changed on Pevensey Levels when the farmers have mown the meadows, cut back the trackside hedges & verges and the maize crop is being harvested.

The commonest dragonfly on the wing at the moment is the Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta). I have seen numerous mating pairs in recent weeks and as I walk along the water ditch margins, the sound of dragonfly wings clattering on the reeds as females lay their eggs, is a familiar one.

Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) (female ovipositing on reed)

Migrant Hawker (A.mixta) (mating)

Wall (Lasiommata megera)

This species is having a substantial third brood on Pevensey Levels.

Female.

Male.

Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) (male)

This is a typical late season male with much reduced pale markings.

Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii) (female)

Dark Bush-cricket (Pholidoptera griseoaptera) (male)

Helophilus hybridus (male)

This widespread species of Hoverfly is very much at home along the edges of water ditches.

Light Crimson Underwing and other Moths during August

 As a resident species in the UK, the Light Crimson Underwing (Catocala promissa), together with its close cousin the Dark Crimson Underwing (Catocala sponsa), is a Red Data Book (RDB) species, only to be found breeding in the New Forest area of Hampshire.

 The RDB status is for species vulnerable to extinction in Britain.

However, in recent years, both promissa and sponsa have been turning up at moth-traps on a regular basis throughout Sussex and beyond and there is little doubt in my mind that both species are now breeding in the county, most likely from migrant stock.

The Toadflax Brocade (Calophasia lunula) is another RDB species that has been resident in south-east England for several decades in small foothold coastal colonies. However, this is another species whose population is now expanding inland, probably augmented by migration and is now being recorded across much of Kent and East Sussex.

Until a couple of decades ago, The Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria) was only a rare migrant to Sussex. After managing to establish itself in a couple of foothold colonies along the coast it has become firmly established as a breeding species along the coastal areas of the county and has now spread inland.

This year has been an excellent migration year for moths and with our warming and drying climate in south-east England, many formerly scarce migrant species such as the Bordered Straw (Heliothis peltigera) have now become much more regular in their appearance in Sussex and are episodic breeders.

Light Crimson Underwing (Catocala promissa)

Toadflax Brocade (Calophasia lunula)

Larva feeding on purple toadflax in my wealden garden.

Jersey Tiger (Euplagia quadripunctaria)

This species made its first ever appearance in my wealden garden this year.

Bordered Straw (Heliothis peltigera)

Another species making its first appearance in my wealden garden.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum)

Black Arches (Lymantria monacha) (aberration)

Tree-lichen Beauty (Cryphia algae)

This very variable migrant species is now probably breeding in UK.

Dark Sword-grass (Agrotis ipsilon)

Mocha (Cyclophora annularia)

Clay Triple-lines (Cyclophora linearia)

Scorched Carpet (Ligdia adustata)

Delightful Damselflies

 I delight in watching damselflies as they fly through the long grass of a meadow or amongst pondside reeds. They can be quite tricky to photograph, especially if, like me, you are reliant on automatic focusing. They are worthy of close attention and here are a few images of damselflies and a dragonfly taken during July and August in a wealden wood.

White-legged Damselfly (Platycnemis pennipes) (male)

Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum) (female, drab form)

Emerald Damselfly (Lestes sponsa) (male)

Willow Emerald Damselfly (Chalcolestes viridis)

This female fortuitously landed on this willow stem as I was photographing the ovipositing scars left by another female.

The female of this tandem pair is ovipositing by injecting her eggs under the bark of the willow stem.

A tandem pair at rest.

Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) (male)