eddie ... very few observers specialise in the smaller moths. The late Jack Newton of Tetbury in Gloucestershire years ago tried to stimulate me into giving them more attention.... his experience of the smaller and very small British Moths was extensive and impressive. When he attended a mothing nig...

If you fancy a quick blast up the M50, Linton Woods just north of Junction 3 on the M50 ~ part of the much larger Queens and Hay Wood complex, you should find them flying there in late June, early July. Having said that, although I have seen it in good numbers elsewhere in west Gloucestershire, I've...

Yes, my money would be on a Cinnabar as Guy and Jack suggest ... as a dayflyer combined with it's less powerful moth type build and flight, often mistaken for a butterfly. When I was a very small boy, before school age, the Cinnabar moth was a frequent day flying sight in my garden in London's East ...

Now I've looked at that has the right feel about it, the only thing is this was the middle of the day, would the Convolvulus be out then? Yes, I agree on the Convolulous Hawk for the larger insect. By stop-starting the frames, one or two frozen images show the distinctive abdominal markings and the...

Brilliant! So this thing about lifting off the leaf to minimise the shadow from below isn't all it's cracked up to be!! (Referring to Matsukaze's post, which is now on the previous page). Guy That may play a minor part but, these Apaturinae larvae HATE hot sunshine, particularly when laid up for ec...

The first butterfly I saw was a Brimstone in the streets of Brynmawr. I thought I'd see plenty more but once again this butterly remains aggravating. I know they are great wanderers, but surely there must be some kind of habitat that attracts large numbers of them? has anyone ever seen more than tw...

Just remembered I had brought down a photo album of butterfly prints recently and a quick flick through revealed a couple of prints to illustrate what I outlined in my previous post above. This first picture shows an example of both sexes of the larvae of Apatura serarum from China. A species I bred...

Tonight he looks all normal again. Sorry about the picture quality - it's another gloomy evening here and my camera doesn't do low light well. http://www.guypadfield.com/images2010/iriscat110.jpg http://www.guypadfield.com/images2010/iriscat111.jpg I've christened him Nero. No idea if it's a girl o...

He must have been laughing at me all winter - I searched the sallow he was on countless times, standing in the snow in temperatures down to -12°C, and never saw him. But thanks to advice from the Kipper and CC I recognised his characteristic feeding pattern now the leaves are out and I get the last...

In the spring up until early June, both sexes of the Brimstone are incessant strong flying wanderers. They get almost everywhere being one of the most long lived of our Butterflies ~ up to ten or more months when conditions allow. You may never see one in your garden but, the females will pass throu...

Thank you, Kipper (and Pete). Assuming it's a wasp, is the large hole an exit hole? If they're empty eggshells I'd be very interested in collecting them for closer examination. In future years, when I'm not envisaging being out of the country at crucial times, I'll try CC's method of rearing PH on ...

The 'prematurely' hatched little larvae may have bored their way deep into the buds, feeding within and protected from the elements. Some species definitely do this. Monitoring WLH ova in the wild locally back in the 1970s saw empty ova in February, and cutttings of the Elms with flowers and buds pl...

Thank you.

Thanks for that ~ looks like you nailed it there. Fascinating little Moths ~ I frequently see the odd one about the garden ~ rarely 'in the field'... no two look the same ~ I did not realise we have so many different species here inthe UK. One was a beautiful Pink colour and larger than the one I pi...

Not read all this thread but, finding an active Peacock this time of year will not be good for its continued well being. Try and catch it and place in a suitable box, then place box in the cold fridge for a day or three. That will get it to settle down. Then place the box in a cold outhouse, shed ga...

Apologies for the quality of these images. The only digital camera I have is an Olympus FE-210 ~ small, very compact and suits most of my needs but, very limited in operation. For many years I've used negative film SLRs with good close up equipment ~ not got round to Digital SLR yet ... maybe one da...

Here's another UN-IDed visitor to my window ~I am familiar with several species of Plume Moth in my garden but, never seen one like this before.



Wossdatden?

Thanks for the replies. However, it was a brave soul to venture out this Winter! Wossdisden? :D...Took this picture sometime ago :~ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/MGJohn/Natural%20History/ShaftsandGearLevers026.jpg Nice little thing ~ rather larger than the one in the OP and better than the ...

.... Here it is :~ http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v465/MGJohn/Natural%20History/Smallmothonkitchenwindow16thJanuary.jpg A welcome little reminder that spring cannot be that far away ~ looking forward to seeing that bright yellow jobbie on the first sunny day next month if it is on time as it usua...

I've found ova like those singly on Prunus spinosa [Blackthorn] when searching for Hairstreak ova here in Central and Southern England. The little larva when mature at first glance looks like a pale grey Haistreak larva! All about thirty years ago. I believe it is an attractive and common little mot...