The Streakt Cloudy Hog

Having done the Streaked Golden Hog (aka Small Skipper) I realised I hadn't done this beauty, photographed during my extremely productive sojourn to Ashdown Forest back in July. It is the Large Skipper, Ochlodes sylvanus, the commonest of our eight Skipper family (Hesperiidae) butterflies. It used to be known as The Chequered Hog or Streakt Cloudy Hog - much better names if you ask me, especially the latter.

Small Purple-barred

Another find from the Ashdown haul. This is a Small Purple-barred, Phytometra viridaria, whose larva feed on Common and Heath Mildwort which is plentiful around where it was found.

Burnet Companion

This day-flying moth was spotted enjoying the nectar from Horseshoe vetch up on the Downs. It's Burnet Companion, Euclidia glyphica, and is reasonably common down south, especially on chalk grassland.

Red Admiral

This was taken back in mid-July but I saw one the other day so thought I'd mention it. An unmistakable butterfly known to most people, the Red Admiral, Vanessa atalanta, is not resident but comes up from Southern Europe to breed, the offspring returning in the Autumn. That's quite a journey for a small bird, let alone a butterfly.

Grey Dagger

I noticed this moth larva enjoying our Victoria Plum on Sunday. It's a Grey Dagger, Acronicta psi. Its close relative, the Dark Dagger, A. tridens, is impossible to distinguish as an imago (unless you get up very close and personal, and examine the genitals). The larvae are, however, easily told apart.
It is common, being found throughout the UK, with a predilection for most deciduous shrubs and trees.

Large Yellow Underwing

Few more moths from 10th/11th August trapping. This one is a Large Yellow Underwing, Noctua pronuba. It's a female, the male's being darker. The two black dots near the tips of the forewings are useful identification features. 
Compare with N. orbona from back in July.

Fox Moth

This little fella was crossing the road, one can only assume to get to the other side. It took a bit of sleuthing to identify, but it is an early instar of the Fox Moth, Macrothylacia rubi. It lives with remarkable views and plenty of food. After overwintering as a final instar it pupates around the end of March/April to emerge as the moth which flies until June.

Scalloped Oak

Much better haul with the trap last night, which is just as well as I woke up around 4am just as it started to drizzle and rushed out to through a waterproof over it. 
This was the most eye-catching of the bunch: a Scalloped Oak, Crocallis elinguaria. It's common throughout the British Isles.

Coronet moth

This is a beauty but not from last night's trap. Last night's trap caught precisely zero moths! Not sure what went wrong there. I have a feeling that there were too many gaps through which they might have escaped. I'll have another go tomorrow night.
It took me some time to narrow down possible identities and following furious interweb cross-checking I'm confident to announce that this is a Coronet, Craniophora ligustri. It's a fairly common moth, associated with calcareous scrub and woodland with ash trees and wild privet.

Common Blue

Okay, it's a bit of a rubbish photo, especially compared to those on Bob's Butterfly Blog, but I am doing this late (again) and it's to hand and I know what it is. It is a Common Blue, Polyommatus icarus, and what's more, it's a male: the females are brown (unless you live in Ireland or north-west Scotland where you might come across the blue marsicolore form). It was in my garden the other day whilst I was slaving away trimming some hot beech hedges. 
The explanation for why their wings are blue is fascinating and complex, but too elaborate for me to divulge at this time of the night. I refer you to the excellent Messrs Thomas and Lewington.

Jersey Tiger

We were making the most of the children being away and visiting old friends in London when one of them alerted me to the presence of an interesting moth at the front of the house on Camberwell Grove. It was flying around showing vibrant red underwings and my initial thought was that that was what it was. However, when I got home and looked it up it turns out to be the Nationally Scarce 'B' Jersey Tiger moth, Euplagia quadripunctaria. 
Until recently it was confined to the Channel Islands and south-west coast of England, but in the last ten years a colony has established in Forest Hill in south London, where presumably this one originated. Its range appears to be expanding.

Old World Swallowtail

(c) Oliver Lloyd

(c) Oliver Lloyd

I couldn't resist blogging these amazing photos sent from Parthenay in France by a friend who is mastering the art of digital photography. These stunning images are produced using a technique known as focus stacking, something way beyond my understanding.
This is the caterpillar of the Swallowtail butterfly, Papilio machaon, and is likely to be the subspecies gorganus. 
There are in fact 37 recognised subspecies around the world! The one endemic to the UK is P. machaon ssp britannicus which is now confined to a few fens in East Anglia. You can see the imago here. This one is on fennel.
Machaon was the son of Asclepius, son of Apollo and god of medicine. He appears in the Iliad where he is wounded by Paris and put out of action, however he continues to cure others with herbs and surgery.

Brown Tail

Back to the moths: this is a brown tail, Euproctis chrysorrhoea. It is in the tussock moth family and there's a very similar species with a yellow tail. 
The caterpillar's hairs are incredibly irritant to skin, so much so that wind-blown hairs can cause problems to people some distance away! Remember that next time you find yourself scratching unexpectedly. (Although they are largely confined to the south of Great Britain.)

Buff Ermine

I had planned to post this an hour ago and go to bed early but once again distractions prevented it. This time overseeing a software update (I use Ubuntu as my operating system, which is fantastic) which took rather longer than expected.
But enough non-natural tittle-tattle. This is a gorgeous beauty from the other night's moth trapping: a Buff Ermine, Spilosoma luteum. It's not as spotty as some but could only really be confused with the White Ermine or possibly the Muslin Moth. It is very common, but never dull.

Rosy Footman

This was an eye-catching little moth in Thursday night's trap haul: Rosy footman or Miltochrista miniata. Its caterpillar feeds on lichens growing on trees and shrubs.

Dot Moth

Checked the moth trap this morning and discovered more species of moth than species of butterflies I've seen in my entire life! Didn't manage to get photos of all of them but will certainly be posting many over the next few days (if I can identify them).
I'm pretty sure this is a Dot Moth, Melanchra persicariae. The photo doesn't really do it justice. 
I was thinking about attitudes towards moths as opposed to butterflies. Perhaps it's because we encounter moths more at night, in the dark, often when we find them fluttering around us at close quarters, that we are less inclined to love them?

Blood-vein

This is a common moth and easy to recognise. It has a red/pink 'vein' running across all four wings, with a red/pink fringe around the edges. Hence Blood-vein moth, Timandra griseata. 
The moth trap for this one was the house: just switch some lights on and open the windows! The place is full of moths.
Moths have great names. It seems that butterflies once had equally ornate Victorian appellations but somehow popularity has lead to a sort of dumbing down of the more outlandish ones. Take the Streaked Golden Hog, for example (30th June). 

Lunar Yellow Underwing

This turned up in the studio (a giant moth-trap!) It's a Lunar Yellow Underwing, Noctua orbona, as evidenced by its size and the black distal wing markings reaching the margins of the forewing.
It is reasonably uncommon, occuring on heathland and rough grassland.
I plan to set the proper trap again on Thursday night when the weather looks good and I'll be around to check it in the morning. I'm also hoping my new moth book will have arrived by then!

Small Emerald

This is post number 200! And this is a moth caught in the previously mentioned (19th June) trap belonging to our recently wedded friends, David and Helen. They visited this weekend and David has very kindly lent it to me for a month or so. I have leapt into action and ordered the book below (which I anticipate will be excellent).
After a certain amount of deliberation and further cross-referencing on the interweb, this is identified as Small Emerald, Hemistola chrysoprasaria. It occurs in the south of England & Wales around chalk woodlands and hedgerows where its foodplant, Clematis vitalba, grows.
Hold onto your pants and prepare for a flurry of moths! 

	Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland - Paperback (2nd edition)
	Paul Waring & Martin Townsend, illustrated by Richard Lewington

Cinnabar moth (caterpillar)

I was hoping to find a Mullein moth caterpillar, which I'd seen a week or so ago on the Great Mullein, but it seems to have disappeared. 
Next to the Great Mullein by the pond is some ragwort and on it was this caterpillar, probably the only caterpillar I remember from my youth: that of the Cinnabar moth, Tyria jacobaeae. Possibly the organism with the most vowels in its specific title?