Hi Jack,
How about "you're a Camberwell Beauty - would you like to see my Purple Emperor?"
Neil

Thanks Rosy,
I'm not the world's greatest moth-er, but chances like that don't come along too often! But all Hawkmoths are cool.
Neil

Thanks Lisa, Roger's behaviour is scurrilous :lol: , but Jack has previously made a good point about having a 'rogues gallery', so that we could recognise fellow members in the field. I know that many folk on here have known each other for a while, but when I visit popular venues, such as Collard, I...

Hi Paul,
That's a cracker! Somewhat more humble, but nevertheless pleasing to the eye when fresh, velvety and the colour of Guinness, I had my first Ringlet of the year on a BC field trip today. Neil

I'm in the 'same boat' as you Guy, after recently becoming single again myself, due to 'over-butterflying'. My expectations are also equally reasonable. I want a 'cross' between Kate Moss and Jack Hargreaves - no I don't mean Kate with a beard - although I believe she was wearing tweed a few years b...

Hi all,
White Admiral (11th June) and Silver-washed Fritillary (12th June) both on the wing in Sussex now.
Neil

Hi all, Last week I was privileged to see this fine beastie. It's the excessively rare Spurge Hawkmoth, trapped by some friends at Shoreham, right on the Sussex coast. There are only a handful of UK records in the last 100 years, although the species was known to breed very locally (Devon, Cornwall,...

Hi Trev,
In the state I was in when I got home last night, I first thought it might be a Tequila Worm!
Neil

Hi Ian,
My judgement is possibly impaired by a couple of bottles of Pinot Grigio, but that looks like a glow-worm larva to me.
Neil

Silver-studded Blue, Iping Common, Midhurst, 11 June 2008 Neil

Hi Dave, Felix is spot on with his explanation. But to complicate matters even further, it is also possible to get variation (in these cases most likely environmentally- rather than genetically-influenced) in the early life-cycle stages, that are NOT later manifested (visibly) in the adult. This can...

Hi Sezar, I don't think this is natural 'wear and tear' and it most certainly isn't natural coloration. As Lance points out, the marks are symmetrical. If you look closely, most of the marks are white, but there seems to be a hint of red on the hindwing margins. This looks to me that someone is perf...

Who stuck the pages together?
Neil

Hi all, I suspect that the undoubtedly high number of Holly Blues around this year, may reflect that the 'host-specific' parasitic ichneumon wasp Listrodomus nycthemerus had an even worse year (2007), due to the weather. In a similar fashion, the numbers of other species, which in some respect have ...

Hi all,
Here's one of the Collard females doing her bit for the future generation. Neil

Hi all, My father and I also had a fantastic day at Collard, and I finally got the chance to introduce myself properly to Pete. I was also lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time to meet 'the man behind the mission', David Simcox. After a 3.5 hour drive we decided to stay for a 'brie...

I went to Iping Common near Midhurst this afternoon, looking for Silver-studded Blue. Only found 4 males, so early days yet on this site. The odd one posed nicely though. Neil

Hi Aiden,
Looks like the day-flying Chimney Sweeper moth, Odezia atrata.
Neil

Hi Susie, If you pick this up at some point during the day, a late afternoon/early evening trip to Iping Common near Midhurst would be worthwhile. Silver-studded Blues have just emerged and make a pretty sight as they 'hang up' for the night. Later in the week, an early morning visit would be good t...

Hi all, I don't know if anyone else has noticed anything similar this year, but apart from numbers here being down, the size variation in this species (a well documented phenomenon) is very marked this year. This specimen is a good 2.5 cm across, very close to the size of a Common Blue. Others on th...