Neil Freeman

[Neil Freeman]

Cheers Wurzel. We had our heating on in the house during the day again for a couple of days last week, very unusual for us in May

Thursday 14th May.

A cold night and another frosty morning but the wind had dropped a bit and as the sun gained some height it began to turn into a nice morning although there was still an underlying chill in the air.

The same male Speckled Wood from yesterday was soon up and laying claim to his corner...

Speckled Wood male - Coverdale 14.05.2020

...and a Green-veined White was soaking up the morning sun.

Green-veined White male - Coverdale 14.05.2020

Most of the morning was taken up with household stuff and a walk to my local shop but by early afternoon I was done and decided to walk down to my local spot by the park at Wagon Lane.
By now it was quite pleasant with a mixture of long sunny spells and some white clouds slowly moving across the blue sky. The breeze, although not as strong as on previous days still felt cold in the more exposed areas but it felt a few degrees warmer in the more sheltered spots.
A few Small and Green-veined Whites were seen along with a single Speckled Wood and a couple of raggedy Small Tortoiseshells were still hanging on.
A single Orange-tip was spotted making his way along the hedge line and stopping occasionally for a top up.

Orange-tip - Wagon Lane 14.05.2020

With most of the adult hibernators now finished here, it was much quieter today with no more than a dozen butterflies seen, mostly patrolling whites.

Back home later in the afternoon, I spent some time pottering about in the garden again and watched a Small and Green-veined veined White (probably the same GVW from the morning) flutter up and down and chase each other about every time they met. After each of these little incidents they would separate and both settle for a refuel.

Green-veined White male - Coverdale 14.05.2020

Small White male - Coverdale 14.05.2020

I also watched a female Holly Blue, only the second female I have seen so far this year, as she fluttered about a pyracantha and repeatedly settled on the flower buds and appeared to lay eggs. I have seen this behaviour in previous years but have yet to actually find any eggs or larvae on this plant. Mind you this is a fairly large shrub and pyracantha is not the easiest to search with its dense growth and sharp thorns keeping many clusters of flower buds out of reach.

Holly Blue female on Pyracantha - Coverdale 14.05.2020

Despite the bright sunlight, the slight but still chilly breeze must have cooled her down enough for her to stop a few times and pose nicely for some photos. A little worn and faded perhaps but the highlight of the day for me.

Holly Blue female - Coverdale 14.05.2020

Holly Blue female - Coverdale 14.05.2020

Holly Blue female - Coverdale 14.05.2020

That brought my total number of Holly Blues seen this year up to eight, six males and two females, all of them in my garden. Despite looking, I have not seen any at all at my local sites. In contrast to what I am seeing reported from many other areas, Holly Blues are having a very poor year around here.
I am wondering if we are at a low point in the parasite/host cycle here and am also wondering if this cycle progresses at different rates in different areas. For example one location could be at a high point in abundance with another part of the country being at a low point, with other areas somewhere in between. It would certainly help to explain the large differences in abundance I am seeing reported this year.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[millerd]

Great shots, Neil. I'm glad a female Holly Blue finally performed for you, and it's a shame you haven't had a few more. When they are laying (rather like Brown Hairstreaks) they tend to stop and bask between bouts apparently to recover some energy. With the right amount of incoming sunshine (not to bright, not too shady) they will open up nicely. I'm inclined to agree with your theory around the parasite cycle being unsynchronised across the country - there's no reason why it should be, and it would boost depleted colonies if their neighbours had a spillover of surplus - thus helping maintain the overall population. Holly Blues do seem to range quite widely from their home hedgerows.

Cheers,

Dave

[Wurzel]

Lovely shots of the Holly Blue Neil - especially like the way that the light catches her and gives her an almost Adonis/electric blue sheen Also that Small White is a corker with the beautiful lemon tips - lush

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

...That brought my total number of Holly Blues seen this year up to eight, six males and two females, all of them in my garden. Despite looking, I have not seen any at all at my local sites. In contrast to what I am seeing reported from many other areas, Holly Blues are having a very poor year around here.
I am wondering if we are at a low point in the parasite/host cycle here and am also wondering if this cycle progresses at different rates in different areas. For example one location could be at a high point in abundance with another part of the country being at a low point, with other areas somewhere in between. It would certainly help to explain the large differences in abundance I am seeing reported this year.

Great to see a female Holly Blue posing like that in your garden, Neil. You may indeed have a valid point regarding local abundance/scarcity of this species.

The last three have proved pretty spectacular for HB round my neck of the woods, but I'm aware there are other areas where few have been noted.

I guess if in a couple of years you are seeing many dozens and I'm struggling to hit double figures then the theory will have been proved!

[Neil Freeman]

Great shots, Neil. I'm glad a female Holly Blue finally performed for you, and it's a shame you haven't had a few more. When they are laying (rather like Brown Hairstreaks) they tend to stop and bask between bouts apparently to recover some energy. With the right amount of incoming sunshine (not to bright, not too shady) they will open up nicely. I'm inclined to agree with your theory around the parasite cycle being unsynchronised across the country - there's no reason why it should be, and it would boost depleted colonies if their neighbours had a spillover of surplus - thus helping maintain the overall population. Holly Blues do seem to range quite widely from their home hedgerows.

Cheers,

Dave

Thanks Dave. It will be interesting to see what the summer brood is like here this year.

Lovely shots of the Holly Blue Neil - especially like the way that the light catches her and gives her an almost Adonis/electric blue sheen Also that Small White is a corker with the beautiful lemon tips - lush

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. I notice that with most of the blues, the colour can change by a surprising degree depending on the angle that the light catches them.

Great to see a female Holly Blue posing like that in your garden, Neil. You may indeed have a valid point regarding local abundance/scarcity of this species.

The last three have proved pretty spectacular for HB round my neck of the woods, but I'm aware there are other areas where few have been noted.

I guess if in a couple of years you are seeing many dozens and I'm struggling to hit double figures then the theory will have been proved!

Thanks David. Yes, it will be interesting to keep an eye on things over the next few years.


Sunday 17th May.

Friday and Saturday were both quite dull days here with a thick cloud cover and the few short times that the sun broke through did nothing to raise the temperatures so it still felt quite cool.

Sunday was better with a bit less cloud but the main difference was that the wind shifted from the northerly blow we had been having to a much more pleasant breeze from the west.

Early afternoon I decided to pay a return visit to my local spot at Castle Hills at Solihull. I came here the other week and said I would return in a few days but the cold snap last week has meant that it is now 10 days before I have come back.

I spent about two hours wandering around the various paths along the hedgerows and through the meadows here and reckon I saw something like 35 to 40 butterflies all told. Not great numbers but given the conditions which remained mostly cloudy with a few sunny spells, I thought was pretty reasonable for around here.

Most numerous species was now Small Heath with at least 15 seen scattered about all over site.

Small Heath - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

Small Heath - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

And one for Wurzel

Small Heath - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

Second place surprisingly went to Peacocks with at least 8 counted and possibly a couple more. Most of these were showing their now considerable age but a couple were in remarkable condition still given how long they have now been around.

Peacock - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

Also looking his age was a single Small Tortoiseshell.

Small Tortoiseshell - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

Half a dozen or so unidentified whites were seen, mostly too distant to be sure of their ID but one Green-veined White did settle just long enough to confirm.

A single Orange-tip was also seen fluttering around a small patch of cuckoo flower. I did not notice until I looked at the photo below afterwards, but there appears to be a (blurred) first instar OT larva in the top left of the shot.

Orange-tip - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

As with my last visit I was on the lookout for Small Copper, Common Blue and Brown Argus and was pleased to find all three again albeit in small numbers (2, 2 and 1 respectively). Truth is, Small Copper and Brown Argus are never found at this site in large numbers and some years I have not found any here at all so I was chuffed with these.

Small Copper male - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

Small Copper female - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

Brown Argus - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

Brown Argus - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

The Common Blue were both fresh males so there is plenty of time for more to emerge here.

Common Blue male - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

Common Blue male - Castle Hills 17.05.2020

A few day flying moths were also seen including a couple of Cinnabars and Latticed Heath and a few Mother Shiptons to complete a pretty decent afternoon given the borderline conditions.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[David M]

A real mix of the old and the new in that last sequence, Neil. That Tortoiseshell is a real survivor. I don't think I've seen one at all during May and don't expect to. Similarly, your Orange Tip will be one of the last; there are still a few stragglers round my way but give it another week and I reckon they'll be gone till next spring.

On the other hand, your Common Blues look beautifully fresh, and your images of Small Heath are evidence of the weather conditions - in warm, sunny weather they are on the go all the time - cloudy and cool and they will pose.

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks David. We often Get Small Tortoiseshell lasting through May and into early June here but with all the warm weather we have had this spring, I can't see them lasting much longer. Same goes for the Orange-tips although I am still seeing a couple on most days although they are non stop in the heat this week.

Monday 18th May – Bishops Hill

Most years we pay a visit to Bishops Hill in Warwickshire as this is a reliable site for Small Blue and Dingy Skippers with the added bonus of a few Grizzled Skippers and Green Hairstreaks, none of which can be found on my local patch. Jane also likes it here as she can see plenty of butterflies from the paths that she needs to stay on because of her limited mobility.
This site is a 40 minute drive down the M42 and M40 which is further than I was comfortable going under the 'lockdown' but with the recent relaxation of the rules this was now possible.

So it was that we set off on Monday (18th) morning and arrived about 10.30 under a nice mix of cloud and sun and the temperature already up in the high teens. The traffic getting out of Solihull had been almost back to pre lockdown density but the motorways were still much quieter than I am used to.

As is often the case here, my first target, Small Blue, was seen immediately on entering through the gate with a few individuals in the patch of grass before the first hedge.

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

It was soon obvious that Small Blues were out in good numbers and during the couple of hours that we spent here I reckon there was easily 50 plus spread around the usual spots.

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Small Blue - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Three pairs in cop were seen, two of which were hidden down in the vegetation but given away by other males trying to get in on the act. Conversely, the pair below was sitting out in full view but being left alone.

Small Blue pair - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Dingy Skippers were almost as numerous with many of them now faded and living up to their common name but there were also some looking to be quite fresh.

Dingy Skipper - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Dingy Skipper - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Dingy Skipper - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

I have seen Grizzled Skippers here in the past but only usually in small numbers so am always pleased to see them here. The first one that I saw was looking a bit worse for wear but a bit later I spotted another one basking on the path. I also think I spotted a third one but this may have been one of those already seen.

Grizzled Skipper - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Grizzled Skipper - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

As with the Grizzlies, I have often seen the occasional Green Hairstreak here and was chuffed to see two different individuals today. The first one was a real raggedy looking example but the second one was a bit better albeit not exactly fresh.

Green Hairstreak - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

This is often the site where I see my first Common Blues but this year my local spot at Castle Hills has beaten it. This is undoubtedly due to the warm spells we have had this spring bringing them out earlier than usual. Even so, numbers here today were much higher than my local spot showing that the season, as usual, is that bit more advanced on the limestone here.

Common Blue - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Common Blue - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Other butterflies seen were a few Brimstones and unidentified whites plus a single male Orange-tip. All of these were actively patrolling apart from a female Brimstone that was checking out the scrub for buckthorn.

Brimstone female - Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

Day flying moths seen included a couple each of Mother Shipton, Burnet Companion and Cinnabar plus a few of what I think were Lesser Treble-bar, although these are difficult to separate from the very similar Treble-bar.

Lesser Treble-bar Bishops Hill 18.05.2020

It was also noticeable how dry everything looked here. It is a dry site at the best of times but we have not had much rain recently and this was the driest I have ever seen it here with some of the vegetation looking parched and desiccated. We don't have much rain forecast for here in the foreseeable future either.

So then, my first trip away from my local patch this year and four species that not too long ago I thought I would be leaving for next year. This has helped a bit to take the sting out out of the fact that we would have been going down to Cornwall this week but, as mentioned before, this had been cancelled.

We have also now heard that our next trip, a week's family break in Dorset in June, has also been cancelled. This was not unexpected as it would have been on a caravan site and most sites are closed until at least early July pending further guidance from the government.

Things are looking up but there is still some way to go, lets hope that circumstances continue to improve and we don't get any setbacks.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

A cracking selection again Neil Those Small Blues are lush as are the Greenstreak, Common Blues but I wish I'd not said anything about butterflies on Dandelion clocks now

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[David M]

Great that you got to see a few species that don't occur locally, Neil. You've done justice to all of them, especially the Small Blues.

The second Dingy is particularly impressive. It's a surprisingly lovely butterfly when mint fresh.

[Goldie M]

Hi! Neil, lovely sequence of shots there, all the Butterflies with the exception of the Common Blue we don't get locally and we've to go to the Lake District for the other's, I bet it felt great to get out and about, it did for me Those Small Blue shots are great
Goldie

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks for the comments Wurzel, David and Goldie, it was certainly good to get out a bit further

Tuesday 19th May

With a nice sunny morning and the day forecast to become rather warm in the afternoon I took a morning walk down to my local spot by Wagon Lane Park before it got too hot.

A few whites were already in full on patrolling mode as were a couple of Orange-tips and a single male Brimstone but that was it in the way of butterflies. It looks like all the ex-hibernating nymphalids have gone now for this year.

Given the number of Small Tortoiseshells that had been here a few week ago, I thought I would have a look for larval webs and quickly found a couple.

Small Tortoiseshell Larvae - Wagon Lane 19.05.2020

Small Tortoiseshell Larvae - Wagon Lane 19.05.2020

Most of the nettle beds are now deep within lush vegetation and are not easy to reach so I reckon there are more hidden away out of sight.

Wednesday 20th May.

With another hot one forecast we took a short drive around to Sheldon County Park for a morning walk. I have walked here from our house a couple of times during the past few weeks but today we drove round to the car park so that Jane could come with me as she could not manage the full distance with her limited mobility.

As with the previous day at Wagon Lane, butterflies were now in short supply with just a few patrolling whites and a couple of male Orange-tips seen to start with. Common Blues can usually be found here and we found just a single male zipping about one meadow area, far too lively for any decent photos so just grabbed a couple of record shots. I might have another look next week to see if any more have emerged.

Common Blue - Sheldon Country Park 20.05.2020

A number of Mother Shipton and Burnet Companion Moths were also seen. These can both be difficult to approach at the best of times and today was no exception with the warm sun shining down from cloudless blue skies.

Mother Shipton - Sheldon Country Park 20.05.2020

Burnet Companion - Sheldon Country Park 20.05.2020

This site runs alongside Birmingham Airport which is usually busy with take offs and landings every few minutes but in the hour and a half we were here today we only saw one plane.

By 11.00 it was getting rather warm so we headed back home.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Wurzel]

Stunning shot of the Mother Shipton Neil - did you use manual focus on that one - as whenever I try for a shot suing autofocus they seem to hear/sense it an they're gone? Interesting to see that they come in different shades and hues - the ones I see are often grey and white but yours has a lovely creamy colour in place of the white

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Pete Eeles]

Stunning shot of the Mother Shipton Neil - did you use manual focus on that one - as whenever I try for a shot suing autofocus they seem to hear/sense it an they're gone? Interesting to see that they come in different shades and hues - the ones I see are often grey and white but yours has a lovely creamy colour in place of the white

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

I agree - and the Burnet Companion. If you'd taken those shots this time, last year, they would have ended up in a book

Cheers,

- Pete

[David M]

Nice to see those thriving Small Tortoiseshell larvae, Neil. Means that a fresh brood is in the pipeline.

Even better are those images of the Mother Shipton & Burnet Companion -it’s almost as though you’ve replaced the perfect pose of one with the other seamlessly!

The Mother Shipton is much darker than the ones I’m used to seeing, and although I’ve seen a few this year, none of them have settled in such a way as to allow me an image even approaching yours!

[trevor]

Superb images on this page of your diary, Neil.
For me the Small Blue selection is the stand out set.
Could you sent some of those Small Tort. cats. down to East Sussex!.

All the best,
Trevor.

[Neil Freeman]

Stunning shot of the Mother Shipton Neil - did you use manual focus on that one - as whenever I try for a shot suing autofocus they seem to hear/sense it an they're gone? Interesting to see that they come in different shades and hues - the ones I see are often grey and white but yours has a lovely creamy colour in place of the white

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

Cheers Wurzel. All taken on auto focus. I always have the assist lamp turned off as this will spook butterflies and moths. They were also taken from about 3 feet away with my 70-300 lens and the photos cropped a bit.
I find Mother Shiptons to be quite variable. Some have a yellow/brown look and some, like you say are grey/white. Not sure if this is a male/female thing or if both sexes show the two forms.

I agree - and the Burnet Companion. If you'd taken those shots this time, last year, they would have ended up in a book

Cheers,

- Pete

Thanks Pete. Oh well! I was chuffed with the number of my photos that made it into your book anyway. Maybe a second edition

Nice to see those thriving Small Tortoiseshell larvae, Neil. Means that a fresh brood is in the pipeline.

Even better are those images of the Mother Shipton & Burnet Companion -it’s almost as though you’ve replaced the perfect pose of one with the other seamlessly!

The Mother Shipton is much darker than the ones I’m used to seeing, and although I’ve seen a few this year, none of them have settled in such a way as to allow me an image even approaching yours!

Thanks David. I will definitely be looking for the summer brood Small Tortoiseshells here in due course.
That Mother Shipton was nice and fresh, they do fade a bit. I have seen a few more last week but very flighty on the warm days we had here.

Superb images on this page of your diary, Neil.
For me the Small Blue selection is the stand out set.
Could you sent some of those Small Tort. cats. down to East Sussex!.

All the best,
Trevor.

Thanks Trevor. How about a swap, my Small Torts for your Pearls or Small Pearls


Thursday 21st May.

This morning (Thursday 21st) I decided to have a short drive to the other side of Solihull and have a look around Blythe Valley Park. I have visited here the past couple of years and found it be a good site for Common Blue along with a few Brown Argus and Small Coppers plus the usual stuff. There is a large ongoing development here, both commercial and residential and I mentioned in a previous report that I am getting concerned about the amount of development that is going on around Solihull. I have to admit though that the largest amount of building here is taking place on what was open farmland which was previously pretty devoid of wildlife. They have also left a lot of trees and hedges in place and a corridor along the River Blythe itself has become the basis of a country park which includes woodland, meadow areas and ponds.

I arrived at about 09.30 on yet another warm sunny morning with not a cloud in the sky. I soon saw the usual patrolling whites and walking through to the first meadow area started to see a few Common Blues. These were mostly fresh looking males but one female drew my attention with her mostly blue wings although she would only open them partially in the warming sun.

Common Blue female - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

I decided to try and shade her with my shadow to induce her to open up more and was only partially successful as she still refused to open up fully. Nevertheless, this does once again demonstrate how different lighting can make the same butterfly look quite different.

Common Blue female - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

I then spotted what appeared to be a freshly emerged Common Blue male still drying his wings.

Common Blue male - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

He was approached by another male which made him flick his wings open and briefly display the lovely new blue of his topside.

Common Blues - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

Carrying on around the paths I saw more Common Blues and ended up seeing between 25 to 30 during the time I spent here, all males apart from that first female.

Common Blue - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

As the morning warmed up they became much more flighty and when they did settle they kept their wings firmly closed.

Common Blue - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

Common Blue - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

I was pleased to find four different Brown Argus, two in one corner of a meadow and two in another meadow. These were all males which spent most of their time chasing the Common Blues around.

Brown Argus - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

Brown Argus - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

Brown Argus - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

Brown Argus - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

Two Small Coppers were also spotted, one raggedy one and another looking much better. The law of sod meant that I lost sight of the better one and only managed a ropey record shot of the other.

Small Copper - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

A couple of male Orange-tips were patrolling the hedges and one of them actually stopped for a bit despite it now being around 11.00 and the temperature well over 20 degrees.

Orange-tip - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

Lots of Burnet Companion Moths were flying along with a few Mother Shipton and a couple of Latticed Heath. Again, all very flighty and difficult to approach but I did spot one Latticed Heath settle in the shade under a hedge.

Latticed Heath - Blythe Valley 21.05.2020

Soon after 11.00 I headed back to my car and on the way saw a single Peacock flying back and forth along one stretch of path.

Another beautiful morning but it would have been nice to have a few clouds about to slow things down occasionally. Still no rain here and this was another site that was looking very dry.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil.

[Neil Freeman]

Garden Moths update.

Between the night of May 9th and last Sunday (May 17th) we had a run of cold clear nights with a frosty start to at least three of the mornings. This meant that I did not bother to run the moth trap during this time as experience has taught me that these conditions lead to very poor results in my garden.

From the night of Sunday 17th however, the wind direction changed and we lost the cold wind which had been keeping temperatures down. Given the improved conditions, I was tempted to run the trap on the nights of the 17th and 18th and again on the 20th and 21st.
I know that some moth trappers do not like to run their traps on consecutive nights in order to avoid trapping the same moths again but I have found that when I do this I rarely see the same moths the following night. I also know a couple of trappers who have done mark and release studies that have shown that moths rarely return to the same trap the following night. Nevertheless, I don't usually run the trap on consecutive nights myself simply because I get up with the dawn chorus in order to get to it before the birds find an easy meal of moths that settle on and around the outside of the trap. With the dawn chorus kicking off at around 04.00am at this time of year, this means that I get up to it at this time, but at least being on furlough from work still, I can then go back to bed for a couple of hours.

Anyway, the night of Sunday 17th produced 30 moths of 16 species made up of 18 of 13 macros and 12 of 3 micros.
The best of these were a nice fat female Peppered Moth and an Angle Shades, both species that I only usually get once or twice a year here.

Peppered Moth - Coverdale 17.05.2020

Angle Shades - Coverdale 17.05.2020

Number were up a bit on the night of Monday 18th with a total of 44 of 22 (28 of 16 macros and 16 of 6 micros).

Green Carpet - Coverdale 18.05.2020

Flame Carpet - Coverdale 18.05.2020

The best moth this time was a New For the Garden (NFG) Tawny Shears which is a scarce and local species in Warwickshire and a cracking record for my garden. One of the guys in the Warwickshire Moth Group told me that he has only seen a couple of these in the county in nearly 40 years of moth trapping.

Tawny shears - Coverdale 18.05.2020

Tawny shears - Coverdale 18.05.2020

I gave it a rest on the night of Tuesday 19th but lit up again on Wednesday 20th. Numbers were up again with a total of 59 of 23. 30 of 11 of these were macros and there was a definite increase of micros with 29 of 12 although none of tonight's catch was anything special.

The night of Thursday 21st started off with near perfect conditions of mild temperature, a thick overcast and almost no wind. Things changed sometime in the early hours however and I got up to the trap to find it raining and a blustery wind. The forecast has said we may get the odd shower from 06.00 onward but this was earlier and much heavier than expected.
Nevertheless, it was the best night of the week with a total of 75 moths of 27 species, 49 of 20 of which were macros with 26 of 7 micros.

Notable moths included my second Peppered Moth of the week, a nice fresh male this time...

Peppered Moth - Coverdale 21.05.2020

...and a Poplar Hawk Moth, my second of the year.

Poplar Hawk Moth - Coverdale 21.05.2020

Poplar Hawk Moth - Coverdale 21.05.2020

The best moth of the night however was a NFG Toadflax Brocade. This species has been expanding from it's core range on the south east coast over the past few years and is slowly spreading north and west, but is still very scarce and localised in Warwickshire. Aware of this I sent a photo to my CMR (County Moth Recorder) who has confirmed that this is the first record in VC38 (Warwickshire) outside of the Rugby area.
Rugby is nearly 30 miles to the east of me and a few recent records of this species there have led to the suspicion that it is breeding in the area. I have also been informed that it has not yet been recorded in VC37 (Worcestershire) which begins just to the west of me.

Toadflax Brocade - Coverdale 21.05.2020

Toadflax Brocade - Coverdale 21.05.2020

All in all, a good week for moths in my garden with a couple of great records, one of them quite significant.

With the return to cooler conditions and high winds over the past few days, I have not had the trap out again since last Thursday but things are looking to improve again this coming week, both during the day and at night.

Bye for now and stay safe,

Neil

[Pauline]

More great moth images Neil composed beautifully as usual Well done with that Toadflax Brocade! You certainly seem to get a diverse selection.

[Wurzel]

Brilliant Blues and BAs Neil - that has got to be the bluest female Common Blue that I've seen, it''s almost entirely blue

Have a goodun and stay safe

Wurzel

[Neil Freeman]

Thanks Pauline. That Toadflax Brocade is the highlight of the year for me so far. The irony is that I would have been in Cornwall last week if not for the virus so you know what they say about clouds and silver linings

Thanks Wurzel. There is certainly a lot more blue females about these days.

Cheers,

Neil.