Garden Update: Wasp Spider, Hedgehog and Hummingbird Hawkmoth

 

We have been keeping an eagle eye out for these colourful spiders, unlike the False Widows under our porch, which are, I feel, rather too close for comfort ... 

We had almost convinced ourselves that we would not have any Wasp Spiders in the garden this year when, lo and behold, we found one this morning! I apologise for the quality of this record shot, but I will hope to get some better pictures tomorrow.

We are delighted to find that the hedgehog has been around again. We put out some suitable hedgehog food last night for the first time, but discovered a neighbourhood cat eating it soon afterwards, so it may be that the hedgehog was simply coming for the water we leave out in a tray. It was evidently another very mild night. The Trailcam is coming into its own ... and I'm glad to report that there have still been no sightings of rats!

 

We are much enjoying almost daily visits from the Hummingbird Hawk-moth. These insects are very fluttery and a joy to watch. The white Buddleia flowers are nearly over, but I hope they will last a bit longer ...

Garden Sightings

 

We were so pleased to see that this beautiful Hummingbird Hawkmoth had found a clump of self-seeded Valerian in our wild garden. It is only the second we have seen here since we moved in a decade ago. And speaking of moving in ...

I am so thrilled to see a bee investigating our new (for 2022) bee house. Our old bee houses have been taken over by ants.

 

Surprise Moth on the White Buddleia

I fear I am rather scraping the barrel with the quality of these photographs; but, once again, they serve as useful record shots. Our white buddleia has at long last come into its own this year, attracting the occasional Comma, Peacock, Painted Lady and Small Tortoiseshell butterfly, along with good numbers of Red Admiral and Small White. There have been plenty of bees on the higher branches. 

We were sitting outside on Thursday afternoon when a particularly 'fluttery' insect caught my attention and I knew almost instinctively that it was a Hummingbird Hawk-moth, a garden first for us. I am adding the sighting to my home-patch list. The moth was very skittish and hard to photograph. It did not hang around for long, but it was there and we both saw it. 

I last saw one of these beautiful insects here in Suffolk a few years ago. Prior to that, my sightings had been in the western Peloponnese - here. You can read more about the Hummingbird Hawk-moth here on the Butterfly Conservation site.

 

A Medley of Moths

Muslin Moth (Diaphora mendica or Cycnia mendica), 16 Sept 2015, Flatford Mill, Suffolk

Having posted a photograph for each butterfly species I have seen here, I felt it would be good to post a few of my moth pictures. Now, I am all but a total novice when it comes to moths. I can tell a couple of our day-flying ones, but that is about all. I would love to begin to learn a bit more and have attempted identifications where possible, but would be delighted to hear from you if you can correct any errors.

The photos in this post are, I'm afraid, in no particular order, but they help me to see something of the huge variety of moths.

Drinker moth (Euthrix potatoria, aka Philudoria potatoria), 25 July 2015, Wicken Fen

Gold Swift, Phymatopus hecta 14 July 2010, Badenoch, Scotland

Yellow Shell , 23 June 2014, Mull (near Ulva ferry), Scotland

Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata), 30 Aug 2016, home patch

Blood Vein (Timandra comae) or ?Small Blood-vein, 10 Sept. 2017, Sutton Hoo

Red Underwing (Catocala nupta), 10 August 2016, Oxburgh Hall, Norfolk

Straw Underwing (Thalpophila matura), 20 Aug 2015, home 

?Micromoth... to be identified, 2017, home patch

Light Brown Apple Moth, home patch

(Epiphyas postvittana)

(Epiphyas postvittana) Homepatch

?Carpet moth, 2015, Grimshoe Mound, Grimes Graves

?Shaded broad bar, Snape, Suffolk, 2017

(Scotopteryx chenopodiata)

6-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae)

 ... above and below. We have watched these emerging once on the Summer Isles and once at Carlton Marshes in Suffolk.

Cinnabar moth, 5 June 2016, Snape

??Vestal moth, 20 June 2016, Whithorn, Scotland

Silver Y, June 2016, Dunwich Heath

Chimney Sweeper (Odezia atrata) , 15 June 2016, Lake District

Unidentified - home, window

Buff-Ermine, moth, (Spilosoma lutea), home, 16 Aug 2015

Swallowtail-moth (Ourapteryx sambucaria), 30 June 2015, home

Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis), 2015, home patch

Common Quaker moth, (Orthosia cerasi) 28 March 2011, Dinefwr, Wales

Mint moth (Pyrausta purpuralis), 1 August 2014, Avebury

Mint moth, Flatford RSPB garden

?Fairy longhorn moth (Adela reaumurella), Home patch, 2015

Green Longhorn Moth

The insect below, seen at WWT Welney, is NOT a moth. It is, however, a longhorn beetle...

NOT A MOTH! This longhorn beetle is Aromia moschata or Musk Beetle

 We finish this selection with a creature that is NOT A BIRD but a moth...

Hummingbird Hawk-moth, 24 Aug 2015, Suffolk

And finally, a couple of photos of the Hummingbird Hawk-Moths I saw in 2010 in the Peloponnese in Greece...

(Macroglossum stellatarum) Pylos area, Peloponnese, 2010

(Macroglossum stellatarum) Koroni, Peloponnese, Greece, 2010

I have posted lepidoptera larvae photos before, but will perhaps post these again soon, with a few new additions... Meanwhile, I hope there will be more adult moths to spot (except in my wardrobe...) in the days to come as summer morphs into autumn.

P.S. Having posted about the butterfly books I have read this summer, it makes sense to mention that I am currently reading A Moth Snowstorm: Nature and Joy by Michael McCarthy, which is reviewed here. I was perhaps expecting more about moths but I haven't finished the book yet so cannot give an overall impression. I love the 'joyful' concept that filters through the pages. There is also a good section on the colour blue (my favourite) and its place in the natural world... 

More Moths . . .

I posted a piece last week about moths. I mentioned the Hummingbird Hawk-moth (I shall follow the UK Moths site spelling), and how I had seen a number in Greece but hardly any in the UK. Serendipidously we were sheltering from the rain this last weekend in the grounds of Helmingham Hall when what should catch my attention but ... a Hummingbird Hawk-moth, nectaring on a Buddleia bush. I apologise for the quality of the photograph: these insects rarely stay still, but they are wonderful to watch.

David was just leaving for work this morning when he noticed the moth in the photo above on the Buddleia adjacent to our drive. I think it may be a Straw Dot (Rivula sericealis). 
 

And finally, a handsome caterpillar!

I have been meaning to post this photo for some time. We came across the caterpillar earlier this summer on a sandy track on NT Dunwich Heath. It is an Emperor Moth larva (Saturnia pavonia), possibly 5th instar - and I would love to see the adult. The males fly about during the day.

Does anyone know whether the 'pavonia' bit of the name refers to the peacock-like eyes on the adult's wings?