New Hill, December

New Hill, 20 December 2013.

Farthing Downs and New Hill are an area where chalk grassland predominates, with some patches of old woodland.  In the absence of commercial grazing, scrub springs up and quickly turns into youg woodland.  The grassland would disappear if it weren't maintained and this pic shows one of the methods being used.  Scrub and trees have been cleared from an area, and some of the cut material is being burned.

New Hill, 20 December 2013.

Not all the trees are undesirable.  The old woodland is pleasant.  Here is some of it, looking back up in the direction of Farthing Downs.

Sheep grazing on New Hill, 20 December 2013.

In some fields, sheep are brought in to graze during the winter, then taken away when the meadow plants start to grow in spring.  Sometimes you can see goats instead, as I did at Trosley Country Park not long ago.  But these are definitely sheep. 

Burnished Brass

Burnished Brass, Diachrysia chrysitis forma juncta.  Farthing Downs, 27 June 2012.

This creature, looking like some barbarous golden owl statue, is a moth called the Burnished Brass.  It stands out in a moth trap and some think it is the most beautiful you are likely to catch.

It rests with its wings tented around its body, so that the golden colour gleams out:

Burnished Brass, Diachrysia chrysitis forma juncta.  Farthing Downs, 27 June 2012.

Here, it is resting over a fold in my measuring paper.  To me it looks exotic, and I can imagine it being a giant, and the paper some alien landscape. 

There are two colour forms of this moth.  In the other, the brown band in the middle of the wing is continuous, and the golden patches are separated.  The form shown here is said to look identical to another species, the Cryptic Burnished Brass, Diachrysia stenochrysitis, and there seems to be some argument about whether a photo like this could be either species and should be labelled accordingly.

This moth belongs to the same Noctuid subfamily, the Plusiinae, as the Silver Y I showed recently.

Sprawler

Sprawler, Asteroscopus sphinx, left; Blair's Shoulder-knot, Lithophane leutieri ssp. hesperica, right.

At Farthing Downs on the morning of 10th November there were only six moths in the trap, and two of them were small micromoths, much more difficult than the macros to identify. One of the macros is shown to the left above.

At first I thought it was a Blair's Shoulder-knot, one of which is shown on the right, but if you're not completely cartain it's worth checking it out against the books, and this one didn't seem to be resting in the expected narrow formation. Gill Peachey, with 10 years' mothing experience, agreed it looked similar, but wasn't happy with the pattern. And Gill soon found the right match; it's a Sprawler.

I thought it might be named for the way it spread its legs out, but the book says it's because its caterpillar rears up with its head back - not what I would have thought of as sprawling, but there it is. The book also says that this moth is unmistakeable; thanks for telling us!

This male, with feathered antennae, looks very smart seen from in front.

Sprawler, Asteroscopus sphinx.  Male.  A Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs, 10 November 2011.

November Moth

November Moth, Epirrita dilutata. Farthing Downs, 4 October 2011.

This is one of the moths I photographed at Farthing Downs on 4 October. It posed in several positions and I was able to catch it from all angles. Despite their name, it is common enough to see them in October.

It is most unusual for moths to stand with their wings up in butterfly fashion, but here it is. They do not normally rest with their hind wings visible either, so the second shot below is an unusual photo.

November Moths belong to a small group that all look very similar, and the field guide has diagrams of their genitalia, always a bad sign. But we are pretty sure of this one without resorting to a microscope.

They are not spectacular, but I like these photos.

November Moth, Epirrita dilutata, on a 5mm grid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

November Moth, Epirrita dilutata.  Geometer.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

More Farthing Downs Moths

Ypsolopha sequella .  Micromoth.
Farthing Downs, 4 October 2011.

Here are some more of the moths we caught at Farthing Downs on the morning of 4 October. I showed some of them on 6 October.

The small moth on the right is a micromoth, quite distinctive with that Bugs Bunny outline on its back. Gill Peachey, my informal tutor, does not work with micromoths, but even so, she knew it straight away.

We are starting to see the moths that really belong to the Autumn. I think that the two next down make a good contrasting pair; the Black Rustic does look quite black in normal light, with white pips on its wings, and it's only the strong light of the flash that brings out some detail. It has white underwings.

Further down is the Deep-Brown Dart, on which detail can be seen in normal light if you look carefully.

The Snout is impossible to mistake, even with a faded specimen like this, with its delta-wing shape and pointed facial outline.

The Barred Sallow and a normal Sallow would make a good pair, but the Sallow would not settle down and I couldn't get a photo.

And the last moth on this page is a Red-Green Carpet, quite showy in a dark sort of way. I like the way its eyes match the overall body and wing colour.

Finally, there were lots big ichneumon flies in the trap this time. I don't know the species, but they look quite dramatic.

Black Rustic, Aporophyla nigra (left) and Autumnal Rustic, Eugnorisma glareosa (right)  Noctuids.
Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Deep-Brown Dart, Aporophyla lutulenta.  Noctuid.
Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Snout, Hypena proboscidialis.  Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Barred Sallow, Xanthia aurago.  Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Red-Green Carpet, Chloroclysta siterata.  Geometer.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Unidentified ichneumon fly.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

October Moths at Farthing Downs

Copper Underwing, Amphipyra pyramidea.  Farthing Downs, 4 October 2011.

On 4th October Gill Peachey invited me to Farthing Downs for another moth-untrapping session. It was nearly two months since the previous one, and conditions for mothing were excellent; we had just had a week of heatwave, followed by a cooler, overcast night.

The trap was full of interesting and instructive moths. 76 macromoths of 24 different species, and a few micros as well.

Of course, some of them were by now quite familiar, like the Copper Underwing on the right and the Large Yellow Underwing just below. I also saw a Broad-Bordered Yellow Underwing fluttering about the lamp as I arrived; I was quite excited, thinking we had a big new yellow moth, but the bright light on the strong colour of the rear wings had fooled me.  It was great to see that a moth that looks like earth or a dead leaf when resting can be so vivid in flight.

Large Yellow Underwing, Noctua pronuba.
Farthing Downs, 4 October 2011.

As before, the City of London wardens kindly allowed us to use their premises, and we were joined both for the untrapping and the ID session afterwards by one of the wardens, who really got stuck in. I really enjoy these sessions, and Gill is a good teacher.

Although I have seen lots of Large Yellow Underwings recently, I included this one because it has clear wing markings as well as that distinctive beak, which makes it a good example.

Gill made sure to pot up several specimens of three types of moth that can look very much alike, and all three of us pored over the books until we could distinguish them fairly easily. These are the Beaded Chestnuts, Brown-Spot Pinions and Lunar Underwings shown below. I have seen a dozen Lunar Underwings in my own trap, but only one of them was the brown shade that can let them be confused with these others; that shade seems to be more common here at Farthing Downs.

Some of these photos are on a rough card background; they are still resting in the egg-boxes that are left for them in the trap. Others are on grey, squared paper; those are 5mm sqares that I printed off, which allows a good size comparison however the photos might be processed.

A few others are in pots or on other surfaces, like the Copper Underwing above which is on the concrete next to the trap.

The most showy catch today was a Frosted Orange, which I will include at the bottom of this post. I will show more of these moths on another day.

Beaded Chestnut, Agrochola lychnidis.  Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Brown-Spot Pinion, Agrochola litura.  Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Lunar Underwing, Omphaloscelis lunosa.  Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Two more that I thought were quite similar in appearance, though they are not actually related; the Brindled Green and the Large Ranunculus. This Brindled Green does not look very green. The colour was hard to distinguish under the artificial light of the Rangers' room. Green fades very quickly from moths.

Brindled Green, Dryobotodes eremita.  Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Large Ranunculus, Polymixis flavicincta.  Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Notice how the different apparent size of the grey squares tells you that the Large Ranunculus is bigger than the Brindled Green.

Finally, the showy one:

Frosted Orange, Gortyna flavago.  Noctuid.  Moth trap at Farthing Downs with Gill Peachey, 4 October 2011.

Farthing Downs August Moths

Gill Peachey's moth trap on Farthing Downs. 31 August 2011.

In an act of great generosity, Gill Peachey offered to put her trap out at Farthing Downs again and show me what it caught, to help me to learn how to distinguish between them. I had had great difficulty with the moths caught in my own little trap in Hayes.

I enjoyed Farthing Downs, a large open space, mostly meadow. It was quite warm on the morning of 31 August and even though it was early, there was lots of insect activity.  There were flies and bumblebees and some butterflies, Meadow Browns and Small Heaths. There were also flocks of micromoths, easily disturbed by walking through the grass, and I dropped to the ground to attempt a photo. I'll show some of the micros later.

The trap is a professional-looking Robinson design. It does not need to be actually in the fields to attract moths. I could see straight away that there were some interesting catches. Gill untrapped them slowly, taking them from their resting places on and in the egg boxes, and let me photograph them. She recorded them and put a couple of dozen in clear plastic pots for me to work on.

Indoors, I managed to identify them all, with help and hints from Gill. I learned quite a lot and I am now confident of identifying some of them, at least, without further assistance.

Here are a few of the pretty Geometers from the trap.

Brimstone Moth, Opisthograptis luteolata.  A Geometer.
From Gill Peachey's moth trap at Farthing Downs, 31 August 2011.

This pretty Brimstone Moth is common. Its caterpillars live on Blackthorn, Hawthorn and Rowan. I now have a row of Hawthorns in my garden, so maybe I will see more of these.

Pretty Chalk Carpet, Melanthia procellata.  A Geometer.  Gill Peachey's moth trap at Farthing Downs, 31 August 2011.

The Pretty Chalk Carpet lives on chalky soils, so its name is not just a clue to its colour. Its caterpillars eat wild Clematis.

Green Carpet, Colostygia pectinataria.  A Geometer.  Gill Peachey's moth trap at Farthing Downs, 31 August 2011.

This Green Carpet is not quite fresh. It starts out bright green, and like many other moths, its colour fades over a few days. It can be found anywhere in Britain and its caterpillars eat Bedstraws.

Farthing Downs Moths

Small Waved Umber moth, Horisme vitalbata.  A Geometer.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs on the night of
16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

These are the moths I was shown by Gill Peachey on the recent moth and butterfly day at Farthing Downs. The backgrounds are not up to much, but the moths are mostly pretty clear.

The Noctuids were happy to be photographed with the lids off their jars. The geometers were more excitable, and the Small Waved Umber above was photographed on a wall (actually, a window in an interior wall). Gill recaptured it so that it could be released into the wild, rather than remain trapped in the office.

Slender Brindle moth, Apamea scolopacina.  A Noctuid.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs
on the night of 16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs,
with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Heart and Dart moth, Agrostis exclamationis.  A Noctuid.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs
on the night of 16th July 2011.  Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs,
with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Beautiful Hook-Tip moth, Laspeyria flexula.  A Noctuid.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs on the night of
16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Mother-of-Pearl moth, Pleuroptya ruralis.  A micromoth.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs
on the night of 16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs,
with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Clay moth, Mythimna ferrago.  Male.  A Noctuid.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs
on the night of 16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs,
with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Large Yellow Underwing moth, Noctua pronuba.  A Noctuid.   From a moth trap on Farthing Downs on the night
of 16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Double Square-Spot moth, Xestia triangulum.  A Noctuid.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs on the night
of 16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Scalloped Oak moth, dark form; Crocalis elinguaria.  A Geometer.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs on the night
of 16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Black Arches moths, Lymantria monacha.  A Lymantriid.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs on the night
of 16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Common Footman moth, Eilema luideola.  An Arctiid.  From a moth trap on Farthing Downs on the night
of 16th July 2011.   Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, with Gill Peachey.  Photographed the next day.

Butterfly Season

Purple Hairstreak, Neozephyrus quercus, in an oak tree.
Jubilee Country Park, Sunday 17th July 2011.

They all come at once, or so it seems.  Today I went on two more butterfly walks; one at Jubilee Country Park, and one at Farthing Downs.

The walk at JCP was led by Marcus Jordan and Tony Ruffle. The forecast was for heavy showers, but we had good sunshine for over an hour. To begin with, no butterflies were apparent. Perhaps we were a little early. But we spread out and walked through the meadows; there were perhaps a dozen of us, and we flushed out several; then quite soon there were lots flying around.

These were Meadow Browns and Ringlets, a few fresh bright Gatekeepers, and we also saw a few small Skippers. One of them was confirmed as an Essex Skipper. You can only tell this from a Small Skipper by examining the underside of its antennae. An Essex Skipper's antennae are black beneath; a Small Skipper's are not. Of course, usually you see them from above ...

Essex Skipper, Thymelicus lineola.
Jubilee Country Park, Sunday 17th July 2011.

We moved along the side of a wood where there was a belt of brambles. This was quite productive. We saw some Commas, beautiful creatures with sculpted wings; a Green-Veined White; a Red Admiral; and flying up into an oak, two Purple Hairstreaks, quite hard to photograph because they tend to be high up and far away. Quite hard to spot, too; one of us was watching them and pointing them out, and it still took me a minute to see where they were.

I haven't included photos of species I posted earlier this week, except for the Comma. I had one shot of the Comma I could not resist posting. There were other creatures, too; bumblebees, beetles, hoverflies, and we saw a Five-Spot Burnet moth.

Then it started to rain. Butterflies do not fly in the rain.

So in the afternoon I went to Farthing Downs. This is a City of London Common and the walk was led by a local volunteer, Gill Peachey. Perhaps because of the weather, I was the only one to turn up for the walk, though there were other visitors in the car park; what can keep people from such good quality free entertainment? I do not understand it.

Ringlet, Aphantopus hyperantus, looking rather tattered.
Jubilee Country Park, Sunday 17th July 2011.

Even though you could see rainclouds all around, this walk was billed as including a look at some moths captured the night before, so not even a downpour could have made the visit useless. Gill showed me the captures and told me about them. Most of them stayed put even with the lids off their jars, and I have some photos, though they are against indifferent backgrounds, and I'll post them another day when I have read up on the moths and made sure I have the right name against the right specimen.

We went out for a look around the common. We had maybe half an hour of clear weather, during which we saw a Small Copper, a Small Heath and a Green-Veined White along with the expected Meadow Browns. Then it began to rain quite hard, and didn't stop. The camera went into my bag and my umbrella protected that rather than me. But Gill is pretty good at plants as well as lepidoptera, and now I know where to come for some bee and fly orchids next year.

All today's butterfly photos were taken with the 200mm prime lens and 2x extension tube on my EOS 60D. I need to use an even shorter exposure in future, because despite my care, some of these are slightly blurry. You can see from the really sharp ones, like that comma, what the lens can do.

Gatekeeper,  Pyronia tithonus.  Butterfly walk in Jubilee Country Park, Sunday 17th July 2011.

Comma,  Polygonia c-album.   Butterfly walk in Jubilee Country Park, Sunday 17th July 2011.

Small Heath,  Coenonympha pamphylus.  Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, Sunday 17th July 2011.

Green-Veined White, Pieris napi.  Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, Sunday 17th July 2011.

Small Copper,  Lycaena phlaeas.  Moths and Butterflies on Farthing Downs, Sunday 17th July 2011.