I've seen photos taken of another Monarch nearby on the Middlesex Street Estate, E1 on 17th July. It doesn't have any wing damage, but the markings are sufficiently different to tell it's not the same individual.

Hi Ronald,
Yes it is a common butterfly, with just a few gaps in the UK distribution. It prefers the damper parts of meadows/woods

Hi Barrie,
There's a link to them given in a previous topic - viewtopic.php?f=8&t=8873

best wishes

I'm fairly certain that they are a shield bug, possibly a Green Shield Bug, as their eggs are that colour. I don't know whether the foodplant is significant as I've only seen 2 other examples and they were on Birch leaves. I've also recently learnt on another forum that shieldbugs lay their eggs in ...

They are not butterfly caterpillars, possibly not a moth either. I think they have too many legs for that, not sure. My instinct would be a Sawfly larva

Hi Bugboy,
Good find! I didn't think it would be anything but a 'swift'. The Frosted Orange looks a better match, with the black saddle behind the head. There's foxglove at the site too. It just seems a tad bigger than you might expect during May. Thank you for looking.

Could be an Angle Shades on Grass Vetchling. But not totally convinced.

Is anyone able to confirm this as a Ghost moth (Hepialus humili) caterpillar?
It was 42mm long, found at night above ground at Mill Green Common, Essex. This seems odd as it feeds and pupates underground.

I'm assuming that its size and darker markings separate it from the other swifts.

Good programme tonight from Devon. Featuring High Brown and other fritillaries. Some detailed observations on habitat and conservation. Worth a look on iPlayer

There's an admirable lighting quality about your Orange-tips, Jack. I've never caught that species well.

Matsukaze wrote:Red Admiral in off the sea today, Burton Bradstock, Dorset.

I've also seen Red Admirals this weekend on the Essex coast, also a Silver-Y.

Hi Alastair, I try and do all the micros that I find, but you've come up with a couple of testers to start the season! Could be an over-wintered Acleris ferrugana or a female Light Brown Apple moth Epiphyas postvittana. I can't get your other one. You might be right with Plutella - have you got a si...

report today of a Painted Lady on heather in a garden near Southend-on-Sea. Also a female Brimstone, same venue.

I recall Jack making the observation several years ago that, just when you think the Small Heath first brood is tailing off, it kicks on again. It's something that I look out for each year and Dirk Maes has also noticed some weird phenology with this species in Flanders. So there could be some protr...

I've wondered about over-heating and lack of humidity in the past as I tended to only see Walls in proximity to gravel pit lakes in Essex. On hot days, the Wall can completely disappear during the middle of the day, perhaps only coming out at 5 or 6pm. So I can see that the ‘British race adaptation’...

I attended the National Recorders' meeting last week and Dirk Maes did a talk on the Wall Brown paper. He was asked what was going wrong at the 'third brood' stage and he didn't pinpoint anything. So it could be any aspect of the life cycle, pupae not emerging, poor mating success, eggs failing to h...

Hi Allan, I've been looking in Sterling & Parsons and I think it's in a tricky group. E. Penziana certainly looks good, but I can see subtle problems with the wing proportion and curves, and as you say, the northern distribution and rarity make it questionable. The Cnephasia sp. look better in t...

Hi Russ,
I believe it's an Angle Shades. There's a piece on them on the RHS website, saying the caterpillars can be destructive to some cultivated plants and that they will feed on winter nights when the temperature is above 5C.
Cheers

Moth caterpillars are tricky as you get green and brown variants of the same species and other markings can vary in colour and proportion even in the same instar. However, the spot pattern around the spiracles and on the upper side look really good for Scarce Bordered Straw to me (UKleps.org). I alw...

Small Tortoiseshell. After a couple of good years,numbers plumeted. I wonder if the early summer brood went straight into hibernation,due to bad weather,can they do that? instead of producing a second generation. I had the same thought, EB - was it more of a 'Northern' year? There were only 2 secon...