Black Beauty

eccles · Post by **eccles** » Sat May 26, 2007 9:47 pm

I snapped this little moth today at the Lansdown Hill battle site. It's a stunning black with white wingtips, and is smallish, about the size of a brown argus.
This is the first time I've seen it, although there were several at this site. I couldn't find any obvious answers on UK Moths. Does anyone know what it is?
Thanks..

Incidently, if anyone here is also interested in odonata, I found several young adult scarce chasers of both sexes here.

Post by **Pete Eeles** » Sat May 26, 2007 9:49 pm

Yep - it's a Chimney Sweeper moth:

http://ukmoths.org.uk/show.php?id=3567

... the bane of Small Blue hunters everywhere

Cheers,

- Pete

eccles · Post by **eccles** » Sat May 26, 2007 9:56 pm

Many thanks Pete. Why do you say that it's the bane of small blue hunters?
I actually went to this site looking for small blue because Mark from Bath said he'd heard they were there, but didn't find any kidney vetch there so didn't really expect to see the butterfly.

Post by **Pete Eeles** » Sat May 26, 2007 10:11 pm

eccles wrote:Why do you say that it's the bane of small blue hunters?

Good point - politically incorrect and I'm fully-expecting a reprimand from my moth chums

The realilty is that, on some sites, the Chimney Sweeper is often mistaken for a Small Blue. So - if you've visited a site expecting to see Small Blue, and you only see Chimney Sweeper moths, then it can be somewhat disappointing

Although I guess all these critters are special in their own way. Similarly, if someone had told me 30 years ago that I'd be excited by a sighting of a Wall, Small Tortoiseshell, Duke of Burgundy or Pearl-bordered Fritillary, then I would have said they were mad - since all these were pretty common where I grew up in rural Gloucestershire at the time. The decline of these species is the primary reason that I'm so passionate about doing something to help raise awareness and protect them. This website being one such diversion!

Cheers,

- Pete

eccles · Post by **eccles** » Sat May 26, 2007 10:19 pm

I'm not one of the PC brigade; I was just curious why the comment as these moths were black.

Post by **Pete Eeles** » Sat May 26, 2007 10:22 pm

Then you have better eyesight than me Eccles

In my experience, unless you know both species pretty well then, since both fly by day, some confusion can occur!

Cheers,

- Pete

eccles · Post by **eccles** » Sat May 26, 2007 10:36 pm

Interesting. Maybe there's local variation in these moths. I've only seen small blue once, last year at Stoke Camp, but they look dull greyish when in flight but the moths today were very different, much, much darker.
After visiting this site, I went onto Hazelbury Common in Wilts as that's supposed to be a known SB haunt, and kidney vetch is growing pretty well in several areas. I saw two possibles; one flew up into a hawthorn bush and I lost it. It was probably a false positive anyway. The other was typical blue flight pattern, and it disappeared into a mix of kidney vetch and bird's foot trefoil. Without tramping through the lot, which would have been crass, I couldn't find it again, but I'm maybe 80% certain of a single.

Matsukaze · Post by **Matsukaze** » Tue May 29, 2007 5:34 pm

I saw dozens of Chimney Sweeper moths today at Edford Meadows reserve (ST675489). They do flutter low in a similar way to Small Blues.

The white orchids were in flower at the reserve, but the main display with the purple orchids, knapweed and numbers of grassland butterflies should be a few weeks away yet.

markatbath · Post by **markatbath** » Tue May 29, 2007 5:37 pm

Hi eccles
I've been to hazelbury several times in the last week or so and there have been no signs of Small Blue.
If you don't mind the trek it's worth going to Martin Down as I have never failed to get them there.
Off to Powerstock tommorrow to see if I can find Wood White then back to Priddy to see if the fritillaries are out.
Will report back any findings
Regards
Mark

eccles · Post by **eccles** » Tue May 29, 2007 7:25 pm

Hi Mark, I've already reported the SPB fritillaries at Priddy:
http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB2/v ... php?t=1136
I didn't find many but they're there!

Also I struck lucky today with small blue at Stoke Camp:
http://www.ukbutterflies.co.uk/phpBB2/v ... php?t=1170
Again, not many but they were in pretty much the same place as last year, in amongst the bracken and long grass near the hawthorn tree in the dip.
If you have a hand held GPS receiver, the grid references I've given should put you right where I found both species.
Good luck with the wood whites.