Six spots

Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae)

While we sat working in the office the other day, Mike suddenly said "There's something red out there" and headed for the door. Sure enough, there was something red – a handsome Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae), trundling around on Marjoram flowers near the sundial. This day-flying moth is the only burnet moth in the UK with six (rather than five or fewer) spots on its metallic green forewings. Those spots are a warning to potential predators that the moth is toxic; it's full of cyanide. Some of this comes from the food plants that the moth ate as a caterpillar. Preferred larval food plants, such as Common and Greater Bird's-foot Trefoils, are loaded with toxins which the caterpillars can safely metabolise for their own use. And if they can't get enough cyanide from their food sources, they can make their own! Such protection is so important to the moth's survival that males even present "nuptial gifts" of cyanide to females while mating; presumably, this helps to increase the survival rates of any resulting offspring. 

Six-spot Burnets are common and widespread across England, Wales and Ireland, but are mostly coastal in Scotland. Elsewhere, they range across much of Europe, and east into Lebanon and Syria. They flourish in grasslands (particularly those rich in flowers), and can be found from coastal cliffs and sand dunes to roadside verges, meadows and woodland clearings. Adults feed on scabious, knapweeds and thistles, all of which we have on the property; they clearly like Marjoram too. Caterpillars, when they're ready to pupate, build their cocoons high on grass stems. Hopefully our pocket meadow, with its bird's-foot trefoils and abundant grass stems for the caterpillars, plus various food plants for the adults, will prove appealing.

Herald

Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix)

Mike trotted downstairs last night to get a "spider jar" from the kitchen. But when he returned, the jar contained a moth rather than a spider – a Herald (Scoliopteryx libatrix), which the field guides call "unmistakable". The burnt-looking edge to the scalloped forewing, the white crosslines and the overall pinky-purple tinge are certainly distinctive, as are those orange blotches. This is a female; a male would have feathered antennae. I'm not sure exactly what the moth is supposed to herald. In most of the UK, there is only a single generation, which lives for most of the year. Adults hibernate overwinter in some sheltered location (cave, tree trunk, outbuilding, etc.), emerging in the spring to mate. The female lays her eggs on willows, aspens and poplars, and the larvae develop from May to July. When they're ready to pupate, they build a cocoon between two leaves. Adults emerge in August and fly until November, when they go into hibernation, and the cycle starts again.

Heralds are common and widespread residents across much of the UK, though they're localised and limited primarily to the lowlands in Scotland. They range across a variety of habitats: pretty much anywhere their foodplants occur. Now that the termperatures are dropping into single digits, this is probably one of the last moths we'll see this year. It's certainly a handsome one!

Little brown jobs

Yarrow Plume Moth (Gillmeria pallidactyla)

There have been precious few insects of any sort in the garden this year. And it's not just us thinking this; naturalists from all across the UK (and Europe as well) are reporting the same. Despite this, I managed to find a new moth for the property yesterday – in the bathroom, of all places. In the "real world", this Yarrow Plume Moth (Gillmeria pallidactyla) probably would have blended right in, looking like a random bit of dried vegetation. Against the blue curtain it was sitting on, it was rather more obvious! Plume moths are a bit of a challenge to identify, but the combination of a dark band on the end of the wing, a darker band on the front edge of the forewing (an area known as the "costa"), the subtly striped body and legs that aren't banded between the spurs (which you may have to zoom in on to see) is distinctive. This is a common species across virtually the whole of the UK, found in dry or sandy areas, including grassland, hedgerows, quarries, embankments and "waste places". It flies from June to August, laying its eggs on Common Yarrow and Sneezewort (and occasionally Tansy). The larvae overwinter in the plant's roots, emerging in the spring to feed on the new shoots. We have plenty of yarrow in the garden, so this little moth may even have grown up locally. Once I'd photographed it, I turned it loose out the window, in the hopes it will find a mate. And some yarrow!

Buttoned up

Buttoned Snout (Hypena rostralis)

Typically, we don't see a lot of moths in the winter here, but occasionally, there are exceptions. Mike found this Buttoned Snout (Hypena rostralis) flying around in the kitchen the other day. (In his picture, it's sitting on the lip of the "spider jar" he used to transfer it outside.) This is a species that overwinters as an adult, typically hibernating in hollow trees, caves, unheated buildings and the like. We're not exactly sure where it started the winter, but it clearly woke up early! This species typically flies from August to early October, overwinters, then flies again from late April to mid-June. Larvae are primarily found in July, though they can be seen as early as June and as late as mid-August. As larvae, they feed only on Hop (Humulus lupulus), which we don't have anywhere in the garden. However, there is some Hop about a quarter mile away and it's widespread across the county, so the moth probably didn't have to venture far to get here as an adult. Buttoned Snouts are named for a little mark on their forewing – unfortunately not very visible here – that looks like a buttonhole. And, of course, its "snout" (in reality, small sensory mouthparts called palps) is pretty obvious! Prior to the 1940s, this was a common species across southern Britain. By the end of the century, however, a steep decline had led to it being designated "Nationally Scarce". Since then, its numbers are slowly increasing again. Now reasonably well-distributed in the southeast, it's no longer considered Nationally Scarce.

Outdoor carpet

Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata)

For those who think that all moths are boring little brown jobs, I present proof that this is not always the case. This Common Carpet (Epirrhoe alternata) flashed up in front of me the other day as I walked the garden paths, and eventually settled back into the grass where I could photograph it. Yes, it's brown – and black and cream and grey and rust – but how about that patterning?! Gorgeous. And very good at breaking up the outline of the moth. This is a common and widespread insect across the whole of the UK, even in many of the offshore islands. It's found in a remarkable range of habitats: woodland, moorland, some grasslands, heath, fens and marshes as well as urban areas and gardens. Those of us in the south see them from May through Octocober (as many as three separate generations!) while those in the far north of Scotland typically only get them in June and July. The one broad dark band across the midwing (often with a grey component), the single sizable "point" at the back edge of that band and the thin grey line that runs through the white stripe just beyond that point all help to separate this species from a few supeficially similar ones. As with all UK moths, the adults are nectar feeders. They visit flowers primarily at night, though they often begin feeding at dusk. Common Ragwort is a favourite, and we have plenty of that, so our visitor should be happy here. The larvae feed on various species of bedstraw, including Common Cleavers – another thing we have plenty of – so any potential offspring should be provided for as well.

Ermine

White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda) caterpillar

The spikey-looking caterpillar pictured above is the very hairy offspring of one of our regular moth visitors – a White Ermine (Spilosoma lubricipeda). I spotted it humping its way rapidly through the longer grass at the edge of one of the garden paths last week. In this case, the "racing stripe" proved apt! It must have been moving from one food plant to another, and given its preference for docks and nettles, it had certainly picked the right corner of the garden to investigate. Adults, which fly from May to July, are long gone. Earlier in the summer though, they're common and widespread in most habitat types (except wetlands) across much of the British Isles, as well as throughout temperate Europe and Asia. They're pretty distinctive: creamy white all over with black antennae and varying numbers of black spots. Those in Scotland are said to be sometimes buffy or brown rather than creamy. They have the rather endearing habit of playing dead if disturbed during the day, dropping to the ground and lying on their backs with their legs all folded. They're full of alkaloids (which make them at best unpalatable and at worst, potentially toxic to anything trying to eat them) and presumably can emit some chemical scent to warn predators of that. Larvae are full of alkaloids too, and also rely on their bristly hairs to help make them an unappealing meal. They overwinter as pupae in leaf litter, emerging in late spring as adults. Here's hoping this youngster makes it to next year!

Adult, in mid-June

Hummingbird

Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum)

Every now and then, some clueless but well-meaning Brit breathlessly announces on social media that they have a hummingbird in their garden. This is impossible, of course, since hummingbirds are restricted to the Americas. But they're half right. What they're actually seeing is a moth – a Hummingbird Hawkmoth (Macroglossum stellatarum) to be precise, and we had just such a visitor last week. Judging from the wear and tear it showed, it must have had a rather arduous journey to get here. In most of the UK, Hummingbird Hawkmoths are immigrants. Though they are known to overwinter in small numbers in south-western England (and are suspected of possibly breeding there as well), those seen over most of the UK have come from southern Europe and northern Africa – a pretty impressive feat for such a small creature! Despite its battered appearance, it still zoomed around the garden without a problem. Unlike most moths, this is a daytime flier; it flits from tubular flower to tubular flower,  hovering over them and unrolling its long proboscis to get a sip of nectar. Its orangy-brown hindwings, visible as the peach-coloured blur in the picture above, help to distinguish it from two species of similarly-sized (and equally zippy) day-flying "bee hawkmoths", which have clear wings. These travellers show up from April through December, though most arrive in August and September. They can show up anywhere, from the coast to urban gardens, and from the Channel Islands right to the northern edge of Scotland. Some years, more than 1000 make the journey! Our visitor only stayed one afternoon, but it was nice to know that our garden helped "top it up" after its long trip.

Grass veneer

Inlaid Grass Veneer (Crambus pascuella)

Our year of few moths continues, no thanks to the cool, soggy weather that plagued much of our early summer. But every now and then, we do find a sprinkling of them in the garden. This Inlaid Grass Veneer (Crambus pascuella) flushed off one of the paths while I was wandering around the other day, and eventually settled where I could get a picture of it. One of several similar "micro-moth" species, it measures up to 2 cms or so (about 3/4 of an inch) long. It can be a bit of a challenge to distinguish them from their close relatives, but the broad white streak along the wing, with the little "tooth" along the dorsal side helps to identify them, as does the intricate pattern of lines towards their back end. Many are yellower overall than this individual, though some are this richer ruddy-brown. As its name suggests, this little moth is found in grassy areas, including grasslands, heathlands and – yes – gardens. It's common right across Great Britain, and elsewhere is widespread in much of Europe and Asia Minor. The larvae feed on various species of grass; surprisingly, the larvae were unknown as recently as 1998! Adults fly at night (we regularly catch them in our moth trap) but are also easily disturbed from their resting places during the day. They're typically on the wing between June and August, so we'll be interfering with their rest for several more weeks yet.

Tapping nettles

Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana)

We've been very light on moths so far this year; our cold, wet spring and (so far) cool summer hasn't been very conducive for moth-trapping, and we're seeing very few moths in the garden. But a foray last Saturday afternoon turned up this little visitor – a Nettle-tap (Anthophila fabriciana), which measures a mere 5-7mm (about 1/4-inch) long, with a 10-15mm (about 1/2-inch) wingspan. The two white marks along the edge of its forewing, and the sharp point in the white-edged band that crosses its wing help to identify it from other similar species in the same family. (It's related to the Apple Leaf Skeletoniser we recorded last year.) As its name suggests, its larvae feed on various nettles, including the Common Nettle (Urtica dioica) which is scattered in many weedy corners of our garden. We'll have to keep an eye out for their cocoons, which are conspicuous webs on the upper surface of the leaves, often with the leaf edges drawn together over them. Adults feed at many flowers, including the Ox-eye Daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) that it's pictured on here. There are at least two broods a year, with adults flying from April through November. It's one of the most common and widespread "micro-moths", found throughout Britain. Elsewhere, it's found from Europe right across to China, including up in the Himalayas! Unlike most moths, it's active during the day, though it's reportedly also occasionally attracted to lights. We haven't previously recorded one here, so it's another new species for the property.

Another longhorn

Green Long-horn (Adela reaumurella)

A week ago, I'd never heard of a long-horn moth. Saturday, I found the second species for the garden! This male Green Long-horn (Adela reaumurella) has even more outrageous antennae than the Meadow Long-horn did; it's like the Texas Longhorn of moths. Add the fact that those antennae are white and waving madly, and you have some pretty extreme eye-catchers. Like its cousin, this little moth is a day-flyer. It's a bit bigger at 7-9mm (up to 1/3 of an inch), and its antennae are a whopping three times its body length. (The female's are slightly shorter.) Its wings are a dark, metallic green, sometimes with a flash of gold near the leading edge. The body and legs are black, and very, very fuzzy. This male was dancing over the leaves of our New Zealand Broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis), chasing everything that passed (none of which were the appropriate females). Luckily, he's got another few weeks to look for some – their flight period is from April through June. It appears to be a bit of good luck that I spotted him; they're normally found in woodland, heathland, marshes, bogs and scrub. Courting Green Long-horns are typically attracted to oaks and hazels, neither of which we have in the garden. However, it's a common species across England and Wales, and I guess the local hedgerows might count as scrub. It's local in Scotland and a few scattered parts of Ireland. The larval food plant is unknown. Another new one for the list!

Longhorn moth

Meadow Long-horn (Cauchas rufimitrella)

While poking around in the garden yesterday afternoon, I spotted several small insects with huge long antennae flitting around above one of the flowerbeds. It took a while before I finally found one that settled long enough for me to get a look, let alone a photograph. Eventually, though, I found a few on some Field Forget-me-not. Unfortunately, they never really sat still, which is why the photo above is ever-so-slightly blurry. It turns out they're tiny day-flying moths, known as Meadow Long-horns (Cauchas rufimitrella). Measuring less than 6 mm (i.e. topping out at less than 1/4-inch), they'd be easy to overlook if it wasn't for those eye-catching antennae. Those are more than twice the length of the moth's forewing! The forewing itself is a flashy, metallic greenish-gold, and the moth's fuzzy black head often (as above) shows a patch of red or purple on the nape. Adults fly in May and June, particularly on sunny days, in areas of damp grassland (like our garden after all the recent rains) and moss. According to the Field Guide to the Micromoths of Great Britain and Ireland, they're local across much of England and Wales, and even scarcer in Scotland and Ireland. The larval food plants are Garlic Mustard and Cuckooflower, both of which we have in the garden, so it's a little surprising we haven't seen these moths before. It's another new one for the list!

Minty

Mint Moth (Pyrausta aurata)

Everybody knows the rules: butterflies fly during the day and moths at night. Except sometimes they don't! This is a Mint Moth (Pyrausta aurata), and it's a species that flies by day as well as by night. It's also known as "Small Purple and Gold", which is a good description of both its size and its principal colours. The trio of small, rather indistinct spots at the dorsal edge of the forewing (the side closest to the moth's body) help to distinguish this species from the similar, closely related Common Purple and Gold (Pyrausta purpuralis). When it's not flying (or feeding), the Mint Moth often perches on the scented leaves of mint plants or related species. Its caterpillars feed on various members of the mint family, and the species is common in meadows and gardens where those host plants are found. It's also found in marshland, woodland and quarries. Though regular across England, Wales and southern Scotland, the Mint Moth has a fairly patchy distribution. Elsewhere, it's widespread across much of Europe, North Africa and northern Asia. It's a double-brooded species, with one generation emerging from mid-April to June with a second generation from mid-July to September, so we should be seeing increasing numbers over the next few weeks. And there's plenty of mint plants scattered around to feed the youngsters!

Cinnabar

Cinnabar Moth (Tyria jacobaeae)

Right now, our garden is heaving with Cinnabar Moths (Tyria jacobaeae). They flush from the grass pretty much everywhere we walk, fluttering low across the garden in an eye-catching flurry of matte black and red. We've just started finding some of their distinctively stripey offspring too; the black and yellow-orange caterpillars are currently devouring Common Ragwort (Jacobaea vulgaris) and Groundsel (Senecio vulgaris) plants scattered around the property. The species gets its name from its colour; not only are its forewings dotted and lined with red, its hindwings are solidly red as well. (Cinnabar is also the name given to the red mineral ore that we get mercury from.) The colour is aposematic; it warns potential predators that the moth (and its equally colourful caterpillars) are toxic, thanks to the alkaloids they ingest with their larval host plants. Only the Common Cuckoo can eat them without problems, and they've declined so drastically over the past decades that they're no longer a significant predator of caterpillars in the UK.

Native to Europe and western Asia, Cinnabar Moths are widespread across Britain. They have also been introduced to North America, Australia and New Zealand in an effort to control the Common Ragwort that was accidentally introduced there. Surprisingly, I recently learned that the Cinnabar Moth was named as a UK conservation priority species in 2007, which means it's considered to be among the country's most threatened organisms. That's certainly hard to believe from the numbers we see here!  Their vulnerability is due to the fact that their main larval host plant (Common Ragwort) is despised by livestock owners, as the ingestion of the plant can prove fatal to cows and horses. Many owners dig up every plant they find on their property. We have plenty of Common Ragwort plants in our garden (and some second-choice Common Groundsel as well), so our caterpillars should have lots of nosh — which is good, because in the case of a food shortage, they eat each other!

Caterpillar - Mike says they look like Oxford United scarves

Pink Elephant

Large Elephant Hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor)

Checking the results on the morning after we've run the moth trap all night is a little bit like opening presents — we never know quite what we'll find, but we're always hoping it will be something good. And finding a hawkmoth in the trap definitely qualifies as good. This gorgeous creature is a Large Elephant Hawkmoth (Deilephila elpenor), so named because its caterpillar supposedly looks a bit like an elephant's trunk. I say "supposedly" because you need a fair bit of imagination to think so. The adult is a real stunner, a vision in pink and green, the latter fading to yellowish as the moth ages. They're a good size too, measuring about 1.5 inches (nearly 4 cm) long with a wingspan of nearly 2.25 inches (60 cm).  Presumably it was drawn to our garden by a good nectar source. It feeds at night on honeysuckle flowers, which are currently blooming in all corners of the property — including a big patch right near where we put the trap. They'll also feed on other tubular flowers.

This common species is found in gardens, heathland, open woodland, hedges and rough ground. The female will lay her eggs on bedstraws, willowherbs, and fuschias, all of which are present in the garden. Widespread throughout England and Wales, Large Elephant Hawkmoths have expanded north through Scotland and greatly through Ireland since the 1980s. It's common in central Europe and its range extends across much of Asia as far as Japan. Since the adults fly from May through August, this will hopefully be the first of many we see this summer.

Hebrew Character

Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica)

One of the very few species of moth we've caught in our trap so far this year is the Hebrew Character (Orthosia gothica). The species gets its name from the distinctive black mark on its wings — a shape which resembles nun, one of the characters in the Hebrew alphabet. This mark is unique among spring-flying moths, making it an easy species to identify. It's an early-season moth, generally overwintering underground as a pupa (the stage of its life between caterpillar and adult) and emerging to fly as an adult in March and April. In mild years, some can even be found in late autumn or winter. Common and widespread throughout the British Isles and across Europe, they're found in virtually every habitat. Adults and larvae are nocturnal, with the former often feeding at willow flowers, and the latter feasting on the buds and leaves a number of shrubs, trees and herbaceous plants. We'll be keeping an eye out for the caterpillars.

Muslin

Muslin Moth (Diaphora mendica)

We added another new moth to the garden list last week: Muslin Moth (Diaphora mendica). This one is a male, identified by those dark grey-brown wings (with a specific arrangement of black dots) and those feathery antennae. A female's wings would be a somewhat translucent white and her antennae would be simple and straight. Muslin Moths overwinter as pupae, wrapped in the case the caterpillar creates to metamorphose into an adult. Most emerge to fly as adults between late April and June, so ours was a wee bit early. They're common and widespread in England and Wales, less so in Scotland and Ireland, occuring in woodlands, downland, sand dunes, hedgerows and gardens. Larvae feed on many common, low-growing "weeds", including dandelions, plantains, chickweeds, docks, heathers and some sallows, so they should feel right at home in our garden. Intriguingly, according to the Butterfly Conservation website, females fly by day and males by night, so how they ever find each other is beyond me!

Angle Shades

Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa)

We ran our moth trap for the second time this year last week, and this lovely Angle Shades (Phlogophora meticulosa) was one of the beauties attracted to the light. Its habit of sitting with its wings partially rolled up lengthwise is distinctive, helping to camouflage the moth by making it look like a bit of old, dead leaf. It's common and widespread across much of the UK, but is most abundant in the south. It's also a strong migrant, and sometimes arrives in sizable numbers from the continent, concentrating along the coasts. Habitats include woodlands, fens, hedgerows and gardens. Adults prefer the flowers of Common Reed (found in abundance in a nearby pond) and various other grasses. Caterpillars feed on a whole host of plants, including many (such as Common Nettle, Bramble and Broad-leafed Dock) found in the wild corners of our garden. Both larvae and adult serve as food for parasitoid wasps, birds, ground beetles and hedgehogs — and don't we wish we'd see some of the latter here! Though their main flight period extends from March to October, adult Angle Shades can be found at any time of the year. The Butterfly Conservation website says the species overwinters as larvae, so this one must have got an early start on metamorphosis.

Skeletons

Apple-leaf Skeletoniser (Choreutis pariana) on Common Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum)

While munching my breakfast on our "raptor lookout" the other morning, I happened to spot this tiny moth (which measures about 1/4-inch) resting on some nearby Alexanders flowers. It's an Apple-leaf Skeletoniser (Choreutis pariana), and it's a new one for the garden. The adult is a nectar feeder, which explains its presence on the flower head. The species gets its name from its caterpillars, which feed on the leaves of apple trees, and also occasionally on the leaves of pears, rowans and hawthorns. The larvae spin a silk web on the upper surface of a leaf, and feed on that surface, leaving only the veins untouched — e.g. skeletonising it.

Though it occurs across much of Great Britain, the Apple-leaf Skeletoniser is a localised species, particularly in Wales and in the north. According to our copy of Field Guide to the Micro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, its habitats include woodland, scrub, gardens, and urban trees. It can be very variable in colour, with individuals ranging from shades of bright orange (like this one) through reddish-brown to greyish-brown. Many show a wavy dark line towards the base of the forewing (i.e. closer to their head) and another black or reddish-brown line five-sixths of the way down the wing. It's a double-brooded species, with the first brood typically flying June-July and the second brood from late-August to March. They overwinter as adults, so ours has presumably recently awoken from its hibernation.

Twig mimic

This marvelous creature is a Buff-tip — a moth that mimics the end of a broken birch twig. It's an amazingly effective camouflage, even if we humans do happen to notice the furry little feet. We've pulled a few from our moth trap this summer, and it's a treat every time. (We've run our lighted trap overnight several times this summer; the light sits over a box with a clear top that traps the moths inside until we have the chance to examine them. We release what we've caught without harming them.) The Buff-tip is a common and widespread species here in Britain, found in hedgerows, parks, gardens and woods. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of lime, birch, hazel and willow; we only have one willow in the garden, and thus probably won't be finding too many caterpillars. Adults fly from late May through July, so we may not be seeing too many more adults this year either!

Tiny lives

While checking things out at the back end of the garden a few weeks ago, I spotted a number of these little moths — one of the so-called "micro moth" species — hanging out on some of the flowers. They're Cocksfoot Moths, Glyphipterix simpliciella, so named because the tiny caterpillars spend most of their time feeding on the seeds of Cock's-foot (a rank grass) and later pupate in its stem. Given that we have a few scattered clumps of that grass in our pocket meadow, that may be where the moths have come from. These are very small moths, measuring only 3-4 mm in length (about 1/10th of an inch) with a wingspan of maybe double that. Though they're often found in large groups on flowers (up to 20 at a time, according to several references I've read), they're so minute that they're easy to overlook. They're common over much of Britain and Ireland (and the western Palearctic), and are especially fond of buttercups. Fortunately, we have lots of those growing among our meadow grasses, so the moths, which fly from May to July, should find plenty to keep them happy here.