Port and Wey: June 2019

Wakeham

My first Moth Trapping of the year (10:20pm - 3:45am) and a good haul of 51 moths of 15 species.

Some new ones as well, with not one but two Privet Hawk-moths, the largest resident hawk-moth in the UK. Other new ones for me on Portland were: Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, a Narrow-winged Grey, a Dusky Peacock which apparently is a rare moth for these parts, a Light Arches and either a Short-barred Yellow Conch (Aethes francillana) or Hemlock Yellow Conch (Aethes beatricella)

For the Aethes sp. it is most likely Hemlock Yellow Conch (Aethes beatricella) as I have been been informed by Martin Cade (the warden at Portland Bird Observatory) that even though both are pretty common on Portland, the one I trapped is most likely to be Aethes beatricella, as the cross bands are much thinner and more oblique on francillana. Plus Martin goes on to say, that so far this summer he has only seen beatricella as this emerges earlier in the season on Portland than francillana.

Moths Trapped

Moth 1 :- 2 Privet Hawk-moth, Sphinx ligustri
Moth 2 :- 15 Large Yellow Underwing, Noctua pronuba
Moth 3 :- 6 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Noctua janthe
Moth 4 :- 1 Dusky Peacock, Macaria signaria
Moth 5 :- 2 Riband Wave, Idaea aversata
Moth 6 :- 14 Heart & Darts, Agrotis exclamationis
Moth 7 :- 1 Narrow-winged Grey, Eudonia angustea
Moth 8 :- 3 Garden Grass-veneer, Chrysoteuchia culmella
Moth 9 :- 1 Rosy-striped Knot-horn, Oncocera semirubella
Moth 10 :- 1 Hemlock Yellow Conch (Aethes beatricella)
Moth 11 :- 1 Light Arches, Apamea lithoxylaea
Moth 12 :-  1 Common Wainscot, Mythimna pallens
Moth 13 :-  1 The V-Pug, Chloroclystis v-ata
Moth 14 :-  1 Light Brown Apple Moth, Epiphyas postvittana
Moth 15 :-  1  Pale-backed Clothes Moth (Monopis crocicapitella) or Yellow-backed Clothes Moth (Monopis obviella)

Total  51 moths of 15 Species.

Here are a few images of the moths trapped.

Moth 1 :- Privet Hawk-moth, Sphinx ligustri

Moth 1 :- Privet Hawk-moths wings open and shut.

Moth 1 :- Privet Hawk-moths, both wings open. It looks as if the bottom moth is slightly worn.

Moth 2 & 3 :- The moth on the left is a Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing and on the right a Large Yellow Underwing.

Moth 3 :- Large Yellow Underwing

Moth 4 :- This is the rare migrant Dusky Peacock, Macaria signaria

Moth 5 :- Riband Wave, Idaea aversata

Moth 6 :- Heart & Darts, Agrotis exclamationis

Moth 7 :- Narrow-winged Grey, Eudonia angustea

Moth 8 :- Garden Grass-veneer, Chrysoteuchia culmella

Moth 8:- Garden Grass-veneer, Chrysoteuchia culmella

Moth 9 :- A very worn Rosy-striped Knot-horn, Oncocera semirubella

Moth 10 :- Hemlock Yellow Conch (Aethes beatricella)

Moth 11 :- Light Arches, Apamea lithoxylaea

Moth 12 :- Common Wainscot, Mythimna pallens

Moth 13 :- The V-Pug, Chloroclystis v-ata

Moth 14 :- Light Brown Apple Moth, Epiphyas postvittana

Moth 15 :- Sadly this particular moth will not be ID'd. Unfortunately the only way to decide whether it is Pale-backed Clothes Moth (Monopis crocicapitella) or the very similar Yellow-backed Clothes Moth (Monopis obviella) would be under a microscope........

Moth 15 :- .........and after I took these two photos it flew off so we will never know!!

A Hoverfly which was trapped by a spider in the moth trap. It looks like a Scaeva selenitica with no common name.

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On this day..........

2018
Today's Sightings Here.

2017
Today's Sightings Here.

Broadcroft Quarry Butterfly Reserve and Pools

What a beautiful sunny day and even better without that gale force wind we had yesterday. Today it was a trip to Broadcroft Quarry Butterfly Reserve and though there were plenty of Meadow Browns, Marbled Whites and Ringlets, the only "blue" butterfly recorded was a Holly Blue.

Other butterflies noted were several Speckled Woods, 3 Painted Lady's, 4 Large Skippers and 2 Small Skippers.

Moths seen were 8+ Six-Spot Burnets and a Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata). The latter a new one for me on Portland.

As I was looking at Great Green Bush Cricket I noticed another cricket to the side of it. First glance was that it was a Dark Bush-cricket and then I noticed the green colouration which would suggest that this was a Roesel's Bush-cricket. Unfortunately I have tried 3 separate insect groups on Social Media and nobody can say what it is. Personally I'm going with Roesel's

Also a few new plants for my Portland List. They are: Saint John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum), Common Agrimony (Agrimonia eupatoria), Rosebay Willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium) and Opium Poppy (Papaver somniferum)

Here are a few images from this morning:

A Painted Lady

And another very worn Painted Lady

I lost count of the Marbled Whites I saw today.

A Speckled Wood

Probably one of the hardest butterflies to photograph, as they are "always" flitting about. And the one chance I get to photograph this Ringlet it's facing the wrong way round. You can just make out the ringlets under the wing to the rear.

A Small Heath in the Butterfly Reserve.

And another Small heat by the pools.

A Dingy Skipper that looks like it has had better days.

A Large Skipper

And another.

A Small Skipper

The same Small Skipper as above.

And another Small Skipper. This is another male

A Holly Blue. The only "blue" butterfly I found today.

A Six-Spot Burnet Moth and in the top left hand corner of the photo, the caterpillar of the same moth.

Another rather worn Six-Spot Burnet Moth.

And another Six-Spot Burnet

This a Yellow Shell moth and my first on Portland.

A Dock Bug.

7-Spot Ladybird

Common Red Soldier Beetles and 2 Ichneumon Wasps

A Great Green Bush Cricket

A Dark Bush-cricket or is it. The green colouration would suggest that this is a Roesel's Bush-cricket and if verified a first for me on Portland.

Another view of it.

This is the second time I have come across this fly and I have yet to ID it. The last time was in Wakeham on 20 Jun Here

A Thick-headed fly - Sicus ferrugineus

Pyramidal Orchids (Anacamptis pyramidalis)........

............Sometimes called the Pyramid Orchid.

Another shot.

Saint John's Wort (Hypericum perforatum) sometimes...........

.........known as Perforate St John's-wort or Common St John's Wort More on this plant Here.

Rosebay Willowherb (Chamaenerion angustifolium)............

................ Also known as Fireweed. More on this plant Here.

This is Agrimonia eupatoria and is often called Common Agrimony or...........

..........Church Steeples or Sticklewort.

These appear to be Mediterranean Cypress trees (Cupressus sempervirens). Also known as The Italian Cypress, Tuscan Cypress, Persian Cypress or Pencil Pine. More on this tree Here.

and here are the cones of this Cypress Tree.

Dog Rose (Rosa canina)

A Bee Orchid close to Broadcroft Quarry Pools.

And a close-up, just showing you how it got's its name.

Purple Poppies which weren't............

............here last year, but have just appeared on the bund at the bottom of Broadcroft Quarry Lane. They are called Opium Poppies - Papaver somniferum. More on this poppy Here.

This is Common Centaury (Centaurium erythraea) and a really.........

..........beautiful flowering plant. More on this plant Here.

Birds Recorded: Kestrel, Herring Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Swift, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, 4 Common Whitethroat, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Wren, Magpie, Carrion Crow, 150+ Jackdaw, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch and Linnet.

Butterflies Recorded: Dingy Skipper, Small Skipper, Large Skipper, 7+ Speckled Wood, 2 Small Heath, 4 Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Marbled White, Red Admiral, 3 Painted Lady and 1 Holly Blue

Moths Recorded: 8+ Six-Spot Burnet moth (Zygaena filipendulae) and a Yellow Shell (Camptogramma bilineata)

Bees Recorded: Honey Bees, Common Carder (Bombus pascuorum) and Red-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus lapidarius)

Dragonflies and Damselflies Recorded: 3 Emperor Dragonfly (Anax imperator)

Flies Recorded: Thick-headed fly (Sicus ferrugineus) and a fly sp.

Bugs and Beetles Recorded: 1 7-spot Ladybird (Coccinella septempunctata), Common Red Soldier Beetles (Rhagonycha fulva) and a Dock Bug (Coreus marginatus).

Grasshoppers and Crickets Recorded: Roesel's Bush-cricket (Metrioptera roeselii) and a Great Green Bush Cricket (Tettigonia viridissima)

Caterpillars Recorded: 1 Six-Spot Burnet Moth

Wakeham

This evening a male Blue-tailed Damselfly (Ischnura elegans) landed in the courtyard at the back of the Cottage.

And at 10:20pm I put the moth trap out for the first time this year and within 10 minutes I had a Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella), a Brimstone Moth (Opisthograptis luteolata) 2 Silver Y (Autographa gamma) and a Privet Tortrix (Clepsis consimilana). Can't wait to see what else is in the trap tomorrow morning!!