Small Elephant leads the parade

Two warm and increasingly humid nights came with lots of promise. Saturday did not deliver much but Sunday was a lot better.

A few new for the year and one new for the garden which was hidden in the bottom of the trap and clinging on to the last bit of life and subsequently expired in the pot shortly after photo taken.

Small Elephant Hawkmoth - seen better days, NFG 26/6

Vapourer - only one of these in Wychwood Ave last year

July Highflyer - seven of these last year, all in July, so this one is early!

Swallow-tailed Moth - a regular visitor

Reddish Light Arches - regular here on the chalk badlands

Cabbage Moth

Small Dusty Wave - common here

Yellow Shell - common here

Pile of Carpets - Summer 2010

With the continuing coldness of winter, I have concluded that I will go through December with no moths at all this month. So I thought a chance to go through the images from the summer, before this blog began, and pull out some variety to remember the warmer times. To begin a short series of selections, here are a pile of carpets from June and July.

Common Marbled Carpet, the most frequent and numerous Carpet sp in the garden this summer with lots in June and a second generation around end September and early October.

This one is the paler form.

Common Marbled Carpet. This one is the darker form which was more regular than the pale.


Least Carpet (just two of these in July)


July Highflyer (seven of these - all in July)

Phoenix (five of these - 27/6 and four in July) showing resting position with the abdomen curled upwards

Common Carpet (not common at all in the garden )

Spruce Carpet which appeared in summer and again in October

Grey Pine Carpet appeared in June and October - not all grey as this one shows

Garden Carpet - the second most common with nearly as many visits as the CMC

Blue- bordered Carpet (a scarcer moth and from this group probably my favourite due to its beautiful blue hues) - occurred 25/6, 29/6 and 18/7

Broken-barred Carpet (another scarcer local species) - three in June