I've had quite a few moth trapping sessions recently and this year has got off to a much better start than last :)
Garden Moth Scheme Week 1 Friday 28th February
Min Temperature -0.9 degrees centigrade
and no moths!
Monday 3rd March produced a White-shouldered House Moth in the garage
Garden Moth Scheme Week 2 Friday, 7th March
Min Temperature 2.8 degrees centigrade
Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) x 1 (NFY)
Common Quaker
Saturday, 8th March
Min Temperature 7.1 degrees centigrade
Oak Beauty (Biston strataria) x 1 (NFY)
Emmelina monodactyla x 2 (NFY)
Oak Beauty is one of the most beautiful moths
Here's a photo of its rather cute and cuddly face :)
Sunday, 9th March
Minimum Temperature 4.6 degrees centigrade
Dotted Border (Agriopis marginaria) x 1 (NFY)
Dotted Border (dark form) F. fuscata x 1
Common Quaker (Orthosia cerasi) x 3
Emmelina monodacytla x 1
Dotted Border - another beautiful moth (the females are wingless)
I am pretty sure this is the dark form of Dotted Border but please let me know if I'm wrong
Emmelina monodactyla looking like a little biplane and yes it was ready to take off hence the photo in the pot!
A photo of my 15w Actinic Skinner Trap - looking a bit worn now. Note the perspex has broken in places!
The garden really seemed to come to life yesterday in the warm sunshine. I saw my first garden butterflies of the year - two Small Tortoiseshells plus a few dark coloured flutters unfortunately too far away to identify although I think probably Peacock or Red Admiral. Several Bumble Bees were seen again at distance but there was a Queen Tree Bumble Bee nectaring on the patio. Frogs and Common Newts can now be seen seen moving around in the pond.
A few photos of Spring flowers
Cowslip
Primrose
Daffodils are starting to flower
I had an afternoon out with a friend last week and we popped to her local nurseries where I bought a few plants
I finally treated myself to a Hellebore although I bought this on the way home from the supermarket. It was only £5 and half the price of similar sized plants at the nurseries.
Bellis Perennis and Thyme bought for the rockery
and I think I'll put this Snakeshead Fritillary in the wildflower "meadow"
There were lots of feathers scattered round on the upper lawn - it looks as though the local Sparrowhawk has been busy.
I treated myself to a new garden Gnome today. I'm reading "The Little Grey Men" by "BB" at the moment - a tale of the last four gnomes in Britain who live in a Warwickshire Brook. I think I might name the new gnome after one of the gnomes in the book - Dodder, Baldmoney, Sneezewort or Cloudberry?
12 comments:
I love the Oak Beauty. I`m not good on moth identification but I`m sure that is one which we have here. What patterns and markings!
I hope your new plants ( and their guardian gnome!) settle in well. A lovely spring post.
Dartford Warbler - Many thanks :) The Oak Beauty is just wonderful :)Must be in my top 10 of favourite moths :)
The Oak Beauty is very cute! It's great to see that so many moths are about again. I've started to see some butterflies, too, in this warm weather.
I love all the flowers and plants, I planted some Snakeshead Fritillarly bulbs last year but I can see that some creature has been digging around them so I'm not sure whether the flowers will appear at all!
You`re off to a flyer, nice one, Caroline.
Looks like a dark form Dotted Border to me.
I look forward to all the moth posts, they are such amazing creatures. My neighbour found some newts and passed them over the fence for my pond, but I don't have any frogs. My lovely dove was killed recently by the peregrine and I came home to a mass of feathers and a corpse...not nice!
It's always lovely to find plants at bargain prices-hellebores are so expensive.
Wendy - Thank you :) Its lovely to see the butterflies and moths starting to appear :)
I've planted Snakeshead Fritillary before and its just disappeared and it looks as though the winter aconites I planted last year aren't going to reappear either :(
Dean Stables - Many thanks Dean. Certainly a better start than last year :) Thanks for confirming dark form of Dotted Border :)
SeagullSuzie - Thank you :) So glad you enjoy seeing all the moths. Perhaps frogs will eventually move in - it took quite a few years for newts to appear in ours and now we have about 18 :)
I am so sorry to hear about your dove :( I know its part of nature but when you know what bird has been taken and its one of your favourites it can be very upsetting :(
Definitely Cloudberry- I love those books. I also love the Oak Beauty which is surely one of the moth world's most stunning creatures. I've been garden-centre shopping recently too- I think it is probably my favourite type of shopping. That snakeshead F is a gorgeous colour and the Hellebore is lovely too. No frogs or newts in our pond here :-( Although the frogs are present round about so I haven't given up hope :-)
Moth box out here tonight. Finger's crossed x
Glad to see the moths are back. I've seen a few on the window in the evening but they flutter off too quickly. Lovely to see your spring flowers too.
Countryside Tales - Thanks :) Great minds think alike - Cloudberry it will be :)The Oak Beauty as you say is just stunning. I couldn't believe it when I trapped my first last year!
You should get frogs hopefully eventually. It took a few years here for the newts and frogs to find the pond. No spawn here yet thought. Good luck with the trapping - mine is on again too :)
Gnomes=awesome:) It takes a lot of patience to ID the moths. That was too difficult for me when I first started so I'm glad you have the patience. They are cool insects:)
Chris Rohrer - Many thanks Chris :) Glad you like gnomes too :) You are so right about moth id - it can be difficult so many so similar!! and you must have loads more species over there. I mainly try and id macro moths - this year I might try more of the tiny micros but they are even more difficult!!!
Em Parkinson - Thanks :) As you say its lovely to see all the Spring flowers and insects starting to appear :)
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