Invasion

 

My biggest invasion by a single type of moth took place on Monday night when hundreds of little micro Ermine moths assembled all over and around the trap. These fragments of insect life come in a whole range of types, even just in the UK, with Spindle, Cherry-tree, Willow and other close relatives all hard to determine apart unless you are patient enough to puzzle over the number and pattern of their black dots. Here are some examples from my horde and you will see others in the background to further photographs below.

I will get out my micro moth Bible when time permits but for now I can say with reasonable certainty that there are plenty of Willow Ermines in there. All these little specks can carry a massive punch when they combine to weave cocoons for their pupal stage which can envelope whole trees and even, overnight, parked cars.

Nestling among them was a nicer surprise: my first Kent Black Arches, above, a moth which has been spreading from its original eponymous base on the South Coast, with a series of arrivals in Oxfordshire recently which convinced me that I would not have too long to wait.  Grassland and brambles have helped in their discovery of new places to live and they are warmly welcome.

Here to welcome them was one of my favourite regulars, the Tree-lichen Beauty whose delicious green has not printed well in my moth Bible's illustrations by the painstaking Richard Lewington. It is not easy either to capture the startling effect of the colour with an iPhone but here are two efforts, along with the misleadingly dull paintings from the book.

 Here are some of the other arrivals on a busy, warm night: a Common Carpet, first in its 'I'm a butterfly' resting position and then with wings extended, alongside a Marbled Coronet (I think) in both pictures, a Coxcomb Prominent, a Brown Plume micro (I also think), a Lime-speck Pug aka Bird-dropping moth, a Ruby Tiger giving just a little hint of its hidden glories, and a Red Twin-spot Carpet showing clearly the reason for its name.

Below we have the very big micro Hypsopygia glaucinalis followed by the all-mauve version of the dread Box moth, destroyer of hedges.

That's all at the moment from here in Oxfordshire but in my granddaughter's moth world, much is going on. She attracted several pristine Elephant Hawks including the one below which we nearly transferred to a neighbour of theirs who is having her house painted pink 

Here are the rest of her catch on Tuesday night when we were over there: the Apple Leaf Miner micro, Lyonetia clerkella, the Light Brown Apple micro, Epyphyas postvittana, a Crambid micro and another little speck which I have yet to ID. Then a Rustic, a Heart and Dart, something too worn to be sure of, a Chinese Character and a Common Footman. 

Next we have a Nut-tree Tussock, a Flame Shoulder (the granddaughter snorted with derision at this name which she considered wildly overblown), an upside-down Buff Ermine, a Ruby Tiger sporting its lovely knee-breeches, the other, more beautiful form of the evil Box moth, A Spindle Ermine, Yponomeuta cagnagella, like its many relatives here, a Coronet, a cherry Fruit moth micro, Argyresthia pruniella (I think) and a second Apple Leaf Miner.

And finally, we have a Riband Wave, one of four Scarlet Tigers, the second Elephant Hawk, another Riband Wave, the trap showing the Box moth in my second composite shortly after its arrival, two more Riband Waves, a Canary-shouldered Thorn and a Scalloped Oak.

Oh and here's a challenge from the granddaughter. Can you spot the Scarlet Tiger in the photo below?

Certainly Beautiful, but how much Lilac?

 

For the second time in a fortnight, something lovely and glowing has appeared in the dark recesses of the trap. Its orange is exaggerated by the iPhone's digital camera which searches almost too diligently for every piece of light that it can find in such gloom. But even so, the Lilac Beauty is a really lovely moth, as its name suggests, and as you can see in the more accurate colouring of the photo below.

This was taken after it had agreed to perch on a piece of eggbox and be raised from the jumble of other ones in the trap. It posed briefly but then flew off, fortunately only as far as the section of wall with the ghostly writing where I took the pic. Here it is again in the 'precautionary' photo which I took from further away in case the moth's keen perception of movement scared it into taking off again as i crept nearer.

Those two last pictures show the reason for its name which doesn't seem to be valid from the one at the top of the post. The lower part of the spread wings is indeed a subtle mixture of oranges, brown and purples which resemble a fading leaf. By chance, our youngest grandson asked on a walk yesterday 'What happens if you mix brown and brown?' and we were able to show him the amazing variety of 'browns' in a pile of early-fallen leaves.

Talking of camouflage, here are two other examples among visitors in the last few days: the famous Peppered Moth and a Poplar Hawk blending in with its surroundings:

But now for a different form of moth defence: the 'startle factor'. The simple and rather pure beauty below has a surprise factor which is hidden, except in its name: the Yellow-tail.

Boo! Here it is, first with the help of flash and then an unaided photo which both show the concealed 'startler'

Other arrivals include the Small Dotted Buff, a plain-looking moth but distinguished as an only very occasional visitor, the micros Anania verbascalis and the European Corn-borer or Ostrinia nubilalis,  a Nut-tree Tussock and the year's first August - or possibly September - Thorn. The two moths are very alike but I think that the whiteish lower legs of this one make August more likely.

Honouring Nicola Devine

I am spending spare moments on my walks and cycle rides into Oxford at the excellent Trap Grounds nature reserve which used to be a rubbish dump next to the canal by the final pound approaching the inner-city quarter of Jericho. Volunteers have cleared the mess and laid out meandering paths and the wildlife has responded accordingly (although some of it may also have enjoyed the old rubbish days). 

The best-known inhabitants are the family of swans, Eddy, Slipper and four cygnets, who are often to be seen pottering around on the towpath nearby. They are the latest of a dynasty which has had some tragedies but has largely survived the perils of living so close to so many human beings.

The patch of woodland, ponds, small meadows and shade-dappled walks has a healthy tally of birds, reptiles and mammals and lots of insects to absorb the likes of myself. I have spent a happy time in the last two weeks, photographing Gatekeepers, Ringlets, Meadow Browns, Small Skippers - as in the photo two below - and this little creature just underneath which photobombed my stalk of a Gatekeeper and is the first Two-banded Wasp Hoverfly to be recorded in the Trap Grounds.

That's less due to any rarity of the species but more because of the limited number of people out looking for hoverflies and taking pictures of them, a hobby which requires the sort of time with which we retired types are blessed. It was also a hobby pursued by a local, self-taught photographer Nicola Devine whose skill and patience amassed a wonderful store of photos until she sadly died two years ago.

When I first saw them on the Friends of the Trap Grounds website, I assumed - especially with this being Oxford - that she worked for National Geographic or some similar illustrious employer. But she had discovered her skill by herself and supplemented it with the tremendous patience and ability to listen and watch which can bring such rewards to all who love the natural world.

In the absence of butterflies, I've also enjoyed trying to photo smaller insects which nip about like jewels between the many flowering heads of ragwort and various cowslippy plants. These pictures were taken in bright sunshine which made focussing my iPhone camera almost impossible. But I will keep trying.

The Cinnabar caterpillars here and at the head of this post were the first I have seen this year and perhaps illustrate the benefits of the Trap Grounds sheltered position in an urban setting which may be a little warmer overall than the open countryside. We have plenty of ragwort round us but, as yet, no Cinnabar catties.

Bees abound on the reserve too and here is one - I will try to sort out which type it is of the surrpisingly large number of bee species in the UK. I would personally just call it a Bumblebee, but that probably doesn't suffice.

The canal and road bridge just to the north of the Trap Grounds has some excellent murals of the wildlife so far recorded in the reserve. And you can get involved too. There's an excellent photo competition on at the moment in memory of Nicola (who also has three discreet benches dedicated to her at very good points for sitting quietly and Nature-spotting in the reserve).  I've pasted in the details at the bottom and if you are within reach of Oxford or visiting the city, I very much encourage you to enter.  I got a picture of a Brown Argus in the calendar last year, but only because by chance, they didn't have any other entries of butterflies.

Everyone loves the Buff-tip

Who could ever tire of the Buff-tip moth with its marvellous twig - or indeed cigar butt - camouflage and comical fake 'face' above its actual one, as shown above. It never fails to intrigue our visitors who coincide with one arriving in the light trap as happened this week.  Being a large moth, it is also sleepy in the morning and happily consents to transfer from the eggboxes to somewhere more pictoresque for photos.

Another distinctive regular at the moment is the Buff Arches, seen directly below from behind in an eggbox cone which shows its curious raised hairs on its brow, somewhat like a Pharoah's headdress in ancient papyri. The second picture shows it from the diametrically opposite direction, where the headdress is perhaps more reminiscent of Tommy Steele and other popularisers of quiffs.

Next come the rather sad surviving parts of a Black Arches, a dazzle camouflage master with a spectacular pink body. You can just make that out in my second picture, which has the moth flourishing its bushy antennae like a very small Denis Healey. In spite of its battered state, this one was well able to fly and eventually made off.

I was very pleased to get a Sycamore in the trap, a moth which is only locally common and very beautifully patterned especially if the insect decides to perch on lichen.

And here are some of the more appealing of the rest of the catch - lots of moths numerically but not a huge range of species. First, a couple of Large Elephant Hawks have gone to sleep in a pose which makes them look like worshippers of the little Spindle or Cherry-tree Ermine on the peak of the cone.

Then a Least Carpet added its name to this year's tally of moths for my garden, a very small but pleasantly-patterned regular with its smudges of grey on a white background, followed by a Purple Thorn in its characteristic resting position and a delicate Clouded Silver, one of the most characteristic of the 'Laura Ashley' moths.

And to end with, a composite of other recent arrivals: another Buff Arches, a Pale Prominent arrested in a nose dive, the micro Endotricha flammealis, a Peppered, a Scalloped Oak, a micro which I need to ID in an unusual spreadwing position, a Dusky Sallow and a couple of Nut-tree Tussocks, the first whirring its wings to summon up energy for take-off. Lots about!