A Garden Surprise of the Green-Winged Kind

 

I was thrilled to find what I think is a Fairy Longhorn Moth from the family Adelidae in our garden yesterday. We usually have a few each year; they are such fascinating insects. 

 

I was also keeping an eye out for butterflies yesterday afternoon when I thought I saw what at first seemed to be a 'metallic moth' with iridescent outer wings. I was a good few metres away and reliant on my camera's 30x zoom. It seemed worth a go, though by then I was shooting blind into the Euonymus leaves you see below. I blew the picture up today, and while the quality is poor, I think you will agree that there is a Green Hairstreak lurking in the photo. I am particularly delighted as this is a species I have only encountered about four times before, and now I have three garden records and another butterfly to add to my Garden Butterfly Survey list.  

 

 

 

Minsmere and our first Cuckoo of the season

We spent Bank Holiday Monday afternoon at RSPB Minsmere, under brooding skies. The photo above shows the scene looking up to the coastguard cottages on Dunwich Heath.

All of a sudden we heard the unmistakable call of the Cuckoo, our first Cuckoo of 2019. What a thrill!

Strangely, it was also the day on which I found my first Cuckoo Flower.



It was lovely to find some sand on the beach...

 

... and I was surprised that there were so few other people about.

There were still Bluebells in the woods.

This plump Chaffinch eyed us up as we sat out, drinking cups of tea. 

All of a sudden he flew off in a flutter of feathers. It was time to see what was about on Island Mere.

There were some large does skirting the woodland path...

... and a small Muntjac, munching away, seemingly unperturbed by our presence. 

We passed small clumps of this tiny pink flower. Is it a kind of Cranesbill, I wonder? (Update... no, it is a Common Storksbill: please see Comments). I have a hunch it likes sandy soils as we have also seen it as NT Sutton Hoo.

This beautiful iridescent Long-horn (moth) was making its way along a stinging nettle, which it shared...

...with this weevil.

There were 'chittering' sounds as we walked up the ramp to the Island Mere hide, but I didn't see any Bearded tits or Reed buntings. We did, however, spot two Marsh Harriers in the distance.



The mere was a swarm of activity: the Cormorant seemed to be watching very hungry migrants (?Swifts) who had recently arrived in vast numbers.

We retraced our steps along the Adder Trail...

...where there were quite a few rabbits (and no snakes in sight - probably too cold for them!).

I don't suppose the Bluebells will still be there on our next visit, but they have been a joy to see.

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...