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Yellow
Shell - Lound - July, 2003 - ©Robert Wilton
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MAY
Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia Gunton Cliffs on the 5th.
JUNE
The Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Hemaris fuciformis pictured below paid a brief visit to a coastal garden at Kessingland on the 22nd. Prior to this Hummingbird Hawk-moths Macroglossum stellatarum appeared there on the 3rd, 18th and 20th. Other Hummingbird Hawk-moths have been noted at Mutford on the 28th and St. Olaves on the 20th (2) with one remaining until the 30th.
Emperor Moth Saturnia pavonia Gunton Cliffs on the 5th.
JUNE
The Broad-bordered Bee Hawk-moth Hemaris fuciformis pictured below paid a brief visit to a coastal garden at Kessingland on the 22nd. Prior to this Hummingbird Hawk-moths Macroglossum stellatarum appeared there on the 3rd, 18th and 20th. Other Hummingbird Hawk-moths have been noted at Mutford on the 28th and St. Olaves on the 20th (2) with one remaining until the 30th.
A moth
trapping session at Gunton Woods on the night of the 24th produced some
47 species. Whilst nothing out of the ordinary was noted some spectacular
ones were. None more so than this sensational Lime Hawk-moth. Two
of these fantastic creatures were seen - looks that rival any rare bird!!!
An Elephant Hawk-moth Deilephila elpenor was in a garden greenhouse
in Oulton Broad on the 25th.
JULY
Hummingbird Hawk-moths were again in a Kessingland garden on the 6th and 22nd. One was in a Haddiscoe garden on the 19th with another in Lowestoft on the 31st. Possibly a returning individual, but as this has been a bumper year for them it is just as likely to have been a new individual. Two Cinnabar Moths Tyria jacobaeae were along the North Beach sea wall on the 18th, and their black and yellow caterpillars have been noted trundling around at Lound Waterworks as well looking for more Ragwort plants to eat.
A Yellow-tail
Euproctis similis was watched egg laying at Lound Waterworks
on the 20th. A single Latticed Heath Semiothisa clathrata
was noted at Gunton on the 26th along with huge numbers of Silver Y's
Autographa gamma.
On the 7th a Twenty-plume Alucita hexadactyla was discovered in a conservatory in North Lowestoft.
On the 7th a Twenty-plume Alucita hexadactyla was discovered in a conservatory in North Lowestoft.
AUGUST
As our interest in Moths is still quite new, we visited Rob Murray on the 19th to view some of the moths he had just trapped locally. The catch included such species as Light Emerald Campaea margaritata, Garden carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata, Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata, Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing N. janthe, Least Yellow Underwing Noctua interjecta, Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum, Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta , Gold Spot Plusia festucae, Burnished Brass Diachrysia chrysitis, Common Wainscot Mythimna litoralis, Rosy Rustic Hydraecia micacea, Mouse Moth Amphipyra tragopoginis, Flounced Rustic Luperina testacea, Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa and of course the ubiquitous Silver Y. It also gave us our first opportunity to try out our copies of the excellent new Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland. We were most impressed by it.
Single Hummingbird Hawk-moths were seen at Pakefield and St. Olaves on the 24th. A Convolvulus Hawk-moth Agrius convolvuli was found on Gorleston Beach on the morning of the 28th and released in Oulton Broad.
As our interest in Moths is still quite new, we visited Rob Murray on the 19th to view some of the moths he had just trapped locally. The catch included such species as Light Emerald Campaea margaritata, Garden carpet Xanthorhoe fluctuata, Double-striped Pug Gymnoscelis rufifasciata, Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing N. janthe, Least Yellow Underwing Noctua interjecta, Setaceous Hebrew Character Xestia c-nigrum, Flame Shoulder Ochropleura plecta , Gold Spot Plusia festucae, Burnished Brass Diachrysia chrysitis, Common Wainscot Mythimna litoralis, Rosy Rustic Hydraecia micacea, Mouse Moth Amphipyra tragopoginis, Flounced Rustic Luperina testacea, Square-spot Rustic Xestia xanthographa and of course the ubiquitous Silver Y. It also gave us our first opportunity to try out our copies of the excellent new Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland. We were most impressed by it.
Single Hummingbird Hawk-moths were seen at Pakefield and St. Olaves on the 24th. A Convolvulus Hawk-moth Agrius convolvuli was found on Gorleston Beach on the morning of the 28th and released in Oulton Broad.
SEPTEMBER
Another Convolvulus Hawk-moth on the 3rd, a male, was released in Belle vue Park, Lowestoft in the evening where it was photographed at dusk. Then on the 5th a female was found in a conservatory in Gorleston.
(above) Convolvulous Hawk-moth larva - Covehithe
- September 16, 2003 - ©Robert Wilton
(right) Convolvulus Hawk-moth - Lowestoft - September 3rd, 2003 - ©Robert Wilton
News
from outside the area involves a fully-fed (i.e. fat) Convolvulous Hawk-moth
larva at Benacre cliffs on September 16th. This has been a good year for
this African resident. The new Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain
and Ireland (Waring, P et al. 2003) says this species is unable to overwinter
in Britain and larvae are occasionally found. 2003 has been a particularly
good year for the species. This one narrowly avoided being squashed under
foot having been identified as dog poo!!!
Two species of Hawk-moth found in a Bradwell supermarket on the 10th had mixed fortunes. The first, a Convolvulous Hawk-moth, arrived on the back of a milk lorry. It was placed on a pallet for safe keeping but another member of staff didn't notice it and stacked a pallet on top of it resulting in an ex-Convolvulus Hawk-moth!!! The same day a Hummingbird Hawk-moth was found in the store buzzing around the light. The light was turned off to try and calm it down. This didn't work and it made a dash for the florescent insect-o-cutter and tried to get itself killed!!! The lights were quickly turned back on and the lucky moth was taken somewhere a little safer where it was photographed before being released seemingly unscathed!!!
Two species of Hawk-moth found in a Bradwell supermarket on the 10th had mixed fortunes. The first, a Convolvulous Hawk-moth, arrived on the back of a milk lorry. It was placed on a pallet for safe keeping but another member of staff didn't notice it and stacked a pallet on top of it resulting in an ex-Convolvulus Hawk-moth!!! The same day a Hummingbird Hawk-moth was found in the store buzzing around the light. The light was turned off to try and calm it down. This didn't work and it made a dash for the florescent insect-o-cutter and tried to get itself killed!!! The lights were quickly turned back on and the lucky moth was taken somewhere a little safer where it was photographed before being released seemingly unscathed!!!
News from outside the area involves a fully-fed (i.e. fat) Convolvulous Hawk-moth lava at Benacre cliffs on September 16th. This has been a good year for this African resident. The new Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland (Waring, P et al. 2003) says this species is unable to overwinter in Britain and lavae are occasionally found. 2003 has been a particularly good year for the species. This one narrowly avoided being squashed under foot having been identified as dog poo!!!
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