First post of the Year

It's time for the blog to come out of hibernation and shake a leg or six.  Spring caught me by surprise this year but I'll catch up eventually.

A couple of recent finds in the garden first - both lepidoptera, the first is a male orange-tip butterfly.  This species is the first to emerge from its chrysalis in spring, as opposed to those species that over winter as adults like small tortoiseshell, red admirals and peacocks which have been on the wing for a few weeks now.  This photo is also a first for me - the first time one has settled in the garden long enough for me to run and get the camera and do the necessary creeping up routine.

Orange-tip - Anthocharis cardamines

The second lepidopterous species was this moth that I disturbed from hibernation in our carport.  It is a nationally scarce species but is more common in the south-east thanks to the food plant of its caterpillars which is the common hop plant.  It is called a Buttoned snout.  The snout bit is obvious, but more imagination is needed to turn the markings on the wings into buttonholes.  This species is not often seen as it is rarely found in moth traps.

Buttoned Snout - Hypena rostralis

And just to show that the bumblebee season is now in full swing, I've got two species of bumblebee - the first one is the Early bumblebee (Bombus pratorum) that I found feeding on our dwarf comfrey.  This one is a worker - the tiniest (and cutest) first generation of the UK's smallest bumblebee.

A slightly blurred Early bumblebee - Bombus pratorum

The second is one of our biggest and rarest species the Ruderal bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus).  This one has been up and about long enough to find a nest and start to provision it with pollen as you can see from her shapely thigh.  This was found on a bumblebee survey in the back lanes of Romney Marsh.

Ruderal or Large Garden Bumblebee - Bombus ruderatus