June Moths

June has been a busy month, moth-wise.  We've had the moth trap out on three occasions, the warm still weather making for a sizeable and varied catch each time.  The middle of the month was notable for the number of micros that were caught.  Note that more micros were caught than are listed below, for two reasons - they are liable to warm up and fly off before I get the camera on them - and I am not practiced at identifying them.  On the last date, we had a bit of a disaster.  Normally when we get to the trap in the morning to turn off the light there are a number of moths resting on the ground near the trap and on nearby walls, etc.  This time there was nothing but a number of smug and sated house sparrows.  We will be more vigilant next time and try to get to the moths first.  Not that I begrudge the sparrows a meal, but the moths are so much harder to identify from a few left-over wing fragments.  Photos of the more stunning examples are below together with lists of new moths for the year.  Note that the Red-necked Footman pictured has a yellow neck.  This is an unusual occurrence and it will be interesting to check any others we may get in future.

Pale Tussock - Calliteara pudibunda

Pebble Prominent - Notodonta ziczac

Long-horned Flat-body - Carcina quercana
also known as the Oak Skeletonizer Moth

Eyed Hawkmoth - Smerinthus ocellata

Red-necked Footman - Atolmis rubricollis

Privet Hawk-moth - Sphinx ligustri

1 June 14

Nettle-tap (micro)

Dark Arches

Flame

Garden Grass Veneer (micro)

Iron Prominent

Small Elephant Hawkmoth

Pale Tussock

Bee Moth (micro)

Diamond-back Moth (micro)

Small White Wave

Shoulder-striped Wainscot

Mottled Beauty

Hook-streak Grass-veneer (micro)

Cabbage Moth

Common Marbled Carpet

Pebble Prominent

Marbled Brown

Treble Brown Spot

Alder Moth

Swallow Prominent

14 June 14

Clouded Brindle

Eyed Hawkmoth

Heart & Dart

Mottled Rustic

Narrow-winged Grey

L-album Wainscot

Small Grey (micro)

Olive Pearl (micro)

Yellow-spot Twist (micro)

Straw Dot

Common Swift

Miller

Heart & Club

Clouded Border

Marbled White Spot

Large Yellow Underwing

Long-horned Flat-body (micro)

Common Marble (micro)

Ochreous Pearl (micro)

European Corn-borer (micro)

Lobster Moth

Garden Pebble (micro)

Brown China-mark (micro)

Elephant Hawk-moth

Flame

22 June 14

Red-necked Footman

Dark Bordered Pearl

Barred Yellow

Spectacle

Festoon

Dusky Brocade

Buff Ermine

Fan-foot

Swallow-tailed Moth

Privet Hawk-moth

Pebble Prominent

Burnished Brass

Small Magpie (micro)

Riband Wave

Shoulder-striped Wainscot

Common Footman

Invasion of the Birds

In Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds, some of the suspense was generated by shots of a large flock of crows gathering outside a school.  Whilst the recent invasion of our garden by a small flock of crows (or to be more exact, corvids) wouldn't have excited any film directors, it was certainly an unusual event.  The corvids involved were mainly jackdaws, though there have been both crows and rooks among them.  Though we have lived here for more than four years, we have never had such a large flock in the garden and a visit by any corvid apart from magpies is a rare event.  I suspect that the reason for the invasion is to do with hunger.  I think that the combination of dry weather and the population increase as the new chicks fledge has caused pressure on their normal foraging grounds of fields and grassland, where they pick up small invertebrates and seeds.  A few of them have even learned to use the bird feeders - a comical sight as they cling on to small perches designed for sparrows, etc.  As to being threatening, which Hitchcock's birds were, quite the opposite is true.  They only appear early in the morning and fly off at the slightest noise from the house.  A friend in Three Oaks has noticed a similar influx.  They certainly have a huge appetite, but jackdaws are the most charismatic members of the crow family, and they are welcome to whatever seed we can provide.

Jackdaws - Corvus monedula

Poppies

Those of you that have driven along the straight stretch of road between Winchelsea and Rye recently may have caught a quick glimpse of red in a gap between the field hedges.  I did and on my way back stopped for a closer look.  Despite the restricted parking and turning space in the field entrance there were several other photographers there as well as a few artists with easels eager to capture the scene.  The field was oilseed rape in seed, and clearly the farmer had either not sprayed with herbicide first or the herbicide used was not effective on poppy seeds.

It was spectacular on a scale that the photographs fail to show.  And it was so appropriate this year to be so good at the same time as the commemorations of the start of World War I and the D-day landings.

Rare Moth

Last week (12th June) Trevor Buttle found a real rarity in his moth trap.  The Splendid Brocade (Lacanobia splendens) was first seen as an immigrant in the British Isles in 2003 and records have been sporadic since then.  It is superficially similar to many other noctuid moths but Trevor realized that he had something special and his Splendid Brocade was verified by the County moth recorder Colin Pratt. This moth is so rare that it is not pictured in my moth book.  I'll be looking at noctuids in my moth trap very carefully from now on.

The flight season is June to July and the larval food plants include Bittersweet or Woody Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara) and Convolvulus (Plenty of breeding space in my garden then!)

Splendid Brocade - Lacanobia splendens