Two Hawk-moths

Elephant Hawk-moth, Deilephila elpenor.  Crowborough, 14 June 2017.

I've had two hawk-moths in my Crowborough light trap so far.  Not the biggest of the English species, but still rather spectacular.  This Elephant Hawk-moth has a wingspan of up to 6 cm. and is probably the most colourful of our moth species.  Its colour scheme lacks taste, though.

Before the days of light traps, moths were known as much or more from their caterpillars as from their adult forms.  The caterpillar of this hawk-moth has an extendable head that looks rather like a snout or even an elephant's trunk, hence the English name; and also, the species name elpenor, which comes from one of Odysseus' companions who was turned into a pig by Circe.

Poplar Hawk-moth, Laothoe populi. Crowborough, 21 June 2017.

The Poplar Hawkmoth is even bigger, with a wingspan of up to 9 cm, and it's fun to take photos that make it look like Mothra.  They are quite docile and can be held in the hand (but they have hooks on their feet so might not be easy to dislodge from their preferred position). 

Poplar Hawk-moth, Laothoe populi. Crowborough, 26 June 2017.

Here is one on an egg box.  The wing shape is quite distinctive and there's nomistaking it for any other species.  The colouring is much more subtle than that of the Elephant Hawk-moth. 

I have had Pine, Lime and Privet Hawk-moths in my Hayes garden trap, and Small Elephant Hawk-moths at West Wickham, so maybe I'll see some more Hawk-moths here too.

Their family name is Sphingidae, from the word Sphinx.  I thought that derived from the Greek for "strangler," but according to Wiktionary it might instead come from Egyptian for "living image," which sounds more complimentary, not to say reverent.

Prey

Small Fan-foot, Herminia grisealis. On the wall near my garden light trap in Crowborough.

Just a brief post.  In this hot weather I looked out at my light trap in the middle of the night, to photograph the moths I could see on the wall, in case any of them flew away before the morning.  And that's what I thought this Small Fan-foot had done.

Remains of Small Fan-foot, Herminia grisealis. On the wall near my garden light trap in Crowborough.

But after clearing the trap in the morning I looked all around carefully, and I saw what looked like a small moth high above.  On looking at the photo, I can see that it used to be a Small Fan-foot .. no doubt the very same one, which has had an unfortunate encounter with a spider in the night.  (Fortunate for the spider, of course.)

Garden Birds

Jackdaw, Corvus monedula, in my garden in Crowborough. 15 June 2017.

So, I have been lounging on my sofa with a longish lens in my camera (200mm with a 1.4x extender) taking shots of birds through my window.  There are several familiar species.  A few are missing, so far at least.  This one, the Western Jackdaw, never appeared in my old garden so it was a surprise to see two of them eyeing up my lawn.

House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, in my back garden in Crowborough.  15 June 2017.

House Sparrows used to be very common but are now less so, and are another species I didn't see in my Hayes garden, so I am pleased that a little flock of them like my sunflower heart feeder.  The one in flight is a male.

House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, in my back garden in Crowborough.  Male feeding young.  15 June 2017.

He was taking the sunflower seed hearts to feed this young one on my back fence.

Young Bluetits seem more capable of finding their own food.

Young Bluetit, Cyanistes caeruleus, in my back garden in Crowborough.  15 June 2017.

Tits like peanuts, which they take to a safe spot to eat bit by bit.  I saw a Great Tit earlier, but didn't get a photo.  No Coal Tits as yet, though.

Another of the crow family has also appeared.

Magpie, Pica pica, over my back fence in Crowborough.  15 June 2017.

A Magpie.  And there are two of the dove family:

Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto, on my back fence in Crowborough.  15 June 2017.

A Collared Dove, and several Wood Pigeons:

Wood Pigeon, Columba palumbus, on my back lawn in Crowborough.  15 June 2017.

Several birds like to investigate the lawn when it has just been mown.  The Wood Pigeons stroll around as though they own the place.  Most of the birds are more cautious.

I have seen (but not photographed) a pair of blackbirds, and there are sometimes a few starlings:

Common starling, Sturnus vulgaris, on my back lawn in Crowborough.  15 June 2017.

Starlings usually work over the lawn in groups, looking for grubs such as leatherjackets - which are cranefly grubs that eat grass roots, so the starlings are a good thing.  I suspect I won't have much slug or snail trouble, either, given the high general level of bird activity here.

It's not just birds that like the garden:

Cat on my back fence in Crowborough.  15 June 2017.

But I think this visitor likes the birds rather than the lawn.

Crowborough! Moths!

Alder Kitten, Furcula bicuspis.  Luxford Lane, Crowborough, 28 May 2017.

I have moved house!  I now live in Crowborough, East Sussex.  It's more countrified than Hayes, but the size of the local community is similar.

So, I started moth trapping immediately.  These are some of the lovely things I got on my first night.  First, an Alder Kitten, one of the moths you can point to if people think moths are dowdy.  It lives in wooded areas in the south of England, and the larvae feed on Birch as well as Alder.  I am not as close to the woods here as I was in Hayes, but they are only a mile away and that must be within the flight capacity of this Kitten.

Notocelia cynosbatella.  Luxford Lane, Crowborough, 28 May 2017.

This Notocelia cynosbatella is a much smaller moth, one of a very large family, the Tortricidae.  Some of these are hard to tell apart, but the orange whiskers make this one very easy to identify.

It's common throughout Britain, and the larvae feed on roses.

Peppered Moth, Biston betularia forma carbonaria. Luxford Lane, Crowborough, 28 May 2017.

I have to include this very smart black moth.  It's the dark form of the Peppered Moth, much quoted as an example of industrial melanism, that is, darker forms surviving better in soot-coloured parts of the country.  The common explanation is that darker forms are better camouflaged from predators in industrialised areas, but no-one has yet provided direct proof of this attractive theory.  Rather than tell the whole story here, may I point you to the Wikipedia article on industrial melanism, which gives a fair precis.

I see lots of the typical peppered form, but hardly any of these pretty creatures.