First day of mothing

This morning I took my shiny new actinic Skinner moth trap in and Ed and I tried to work through the ID of some of the macros. There weren't as many individuals nor as many species as I thought we may get, but I guess that was just optimism. It was still brilliant! These are the ones we managed to get a name to (thanks in large part to the wisdom of Brian Stone), in order of their identification, plus the number of individuals (ignoring the ones that got away and most of the micros):

Willow Beauty, 1,

Willow Beauty
Ruby Tiger, 2,
Cloaked Minor, 3,
Large Yellow-underwing, 2,
'Copper Underwing', 1,
Common Rustic, 3,
Scalloped Oak, 1,

Scalloped Oak
Dark Arches, 2,


Dark Arches
Knot Grass, 1,

Knot Grass
Silver-Y, 1,
Marbled Beauty, 2,
Dingy Footman, 2,
Riband Wave, 5,
Lime-speck Pug, 1,
Shuttle-shaped Dart, 2,

Shuttle-shaped Dart
Codling Moth, Cydia pomonella, 1 (a tortricid micro),
Endrotricha flammealis, 2, (a pyralid micro),

Also a couple of plume moths, several 'grass' moths, a diving beetle, a few earwigs, one or two mayflies, a handful of Lesser Waterboatman.

In time, I am sure I will get a bit more sophisticated in my ID and knowledge, but this will need time...

The slippery slope

Today, my friends, sees the beginning of a new era. I have finally invested in a Skinner moth trap. Its actinic bulb is shining in the garden as I write and, in the morning, there will be moths! This is truly the start of the slippery slope and I know I am going to like it...

Late July insects

Chalkhill Blue, Barnack Hills and Holes

Common Blue, Barnack Hills and Holes

Six-spot Burnets, Barnack Hills and Holes


Ruddy Darter, Fermyn Wood



Silver-washed Fritillary, Bedford Purlieus



Brown Argus, Bedford Purlieus


Cinnabar caterpillars, Fermyn Wood

Garden dragonflies

Southern Hawker (female)

Migrant Hawker

Southern Hawker flex

Gullage

I will make a few attempts at gulling over the next few months, in order to at least try to stave off my reputation as a 'numpty' when it comes to gull ID. This beast photographed at Dogsthorpe Tip, Peterborough, today is what I would call a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull (though if anyone knows better, please comment). There were a few around this morning, but the line between them and other juves is a bit fuzzy for me and I need to read more (this one seemed a good start)...

Non-White Admiral

This White Admiral was at Fermyn Woods, Northants last Sunday (11.7.10). I am not sure it is one of the unusual aberrant forms or just rather worn, but you can see it lacks the black and orange colour (though it did have an angle-dependent shimmer) and the white colouring is very poorly represented.
Any ideas?

More butterflies 5

Purple Hairstreaks, Bedford Purlieus, Cambridgeshire

More butterflies 4

White-letter Hairstreak, Bedford Purlieus, Cambridgeshire

More butterflies 3

Marbled Whites, near Bedford Purlieus, Cambridgeshire

More butterflies 2

Purple Emperors, Fermyn Wood, Northamptonshire

More butterflies 1

SIlver-washed Fritillaries, Bedford Purlieus, Cambridgeshire

River Warbler

I left very early this morning with Will Bowell (driving) for Thorpe-next-Haddiscoe in west Norfolk. It was the last morning of public access to view the River Warbler which has been singing there. We got great views, but perhaps even better was the sound of its rhythmic insect-style song. Great stuff. These shots were the best I could muster by distant digiscoping.