Wildlife

James Lowen

To finish with, I have been surprised to catch four True Lover's Knot. This gorgeous little species is a heathland specialist. The nearest heath is 10km away, so these beasts have flown a long way to reach my garden. But when I released one, I realised that this might not be such an epic venture after all. The TLK spiralled up and up to about twice house height then headed off, powerfully. Impressive critter.

And there was some hawkmoth fun. (Of course.) Eyed, Poplar, Elephant, Small Elephant and Lime in the garden so far. But where's the Privet? And the Pine? Let alone the Striped that have been all over the shop this summer...

There were some real goodies too, with two species (Red-necked Footman, of which I caught four, and Golden Plusia) even being twitched.

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10 Jul 2015 A summer of moths

After a slow start, the warm June with winds from the continent has made for some fun nights mothing. Personal highlights have been a single catch at home of 800 moths of 90++ species (still working them out), plus trips to see the traps opened at Strumpshaw Fen and Lakenheath Fen. Here are some of the home moths.