The Beauty of Moths

If you think that moths are boring little brown things that eat clothes and blunder around your front room light in the evenings then think again.

 

About 2,500 species of moths occur in Britain and only about half a dozen of those can be described as clothes moths; mainly small moths from the family Tineidae.

 

Many of our native species are beautiful creatures and are deserving of close attention.

 

Here are a few that have been attracted to the garden moth trap over the last few weeks.

 

 

Elephant Hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor)

 

 

 

Eyed Hawkmoth (Smerinthus ocellata)

 

 

Scarce Silver-lines (Bena bicolorana)

 

 

 

Alder Kitten (Furcula bicuspis)

 

 

Dot Moth (Melanchra persicariae)

 

 

Grey Dagger (Acronicta psi)

This species is virtually impossible to tell apart from the Dark Dagger (A.tridens) in the adult stage but I am pretty certain that this is psi on the grounds that I have only ever found the larvae of this species in my garden, which are very different from the larvae of tridens.

 

 

A walk in a Wealden wood on a warm dull day can be a good time to find moths sitting out in the open rather than hiding away from the sunshine.

 

 

Birch Mocha (Cyclophora albipunctata) 

 

 

Nemophora degeerella (male)

The male of this Longhorn species has ridiculously long antennae.

 

 

Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata)

 

Norfolk Hawker Dragonfly

We have just returned from a few days away with friends on the Suffolk coast. Soon after our arrival, I was out on the marshes looking for wildlife in general and the rare Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isosceles) in particular. This dragonfly has traditionally been restricted to the Norfolk Broads but in recent years it has been appearing along the Suffolk coastal marshes and also in North Kent.

Whether the species has expanded its range out of Norfolk or whether populations have been established by migrants from Europe is unclear. I suspect the latter but either way it is good to see this lovely species of dragonfly expanding its range in England.

Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isosceles) (males)

Golden-bloomed Grey Longhorn Beetle (Agapanthia villosoviridescens)

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) (female)

Southern Marsh Orchid (Dactylorhiza praetermissa)

The Saxon burial grounds at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk have long been on my 'must visit' list. This is a significant historical site where, in 1939, a local archaeologist, Basil Brown, discovered a Saxon ship burial. In fact, two ship burials were uncovered on the site. These and only one other, at nearby Snape, have ever been discovered in Britain.

The famous 'Mound 1' where the intact ship burial containing the Sutton Hoo helmet was discovered.

More Dragonfly Encounters

Back on Pevensey Levels, the number of dragonflies on the wing has been increasing. The Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytrons pratense) is probably reaching peak numbers now and there has been a noticeable increase in the emergence of Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata), including several examples of the variant form praenubila.

 

 

 

Hairy Dragonfly (Brachytron pratense) (mating pair)

 

 

 

 

Four-spotted Chaser (Libellula quadrimaculata) (female, form praenubila)

 

 

 

 

Four-spotted Chaser (L.quadrimaculata) (male, form praenubila)

 

 

 

 

Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator) (female)