30 Days Wild – Day 19

June 19, 2016February 26, 2025 / nrowberry / 2 Comments

It’s very appropriate that the Day 19 graphic on the left here has butterflies, as that is exactly what we went looking for this afternoon – the Silver Studded Blue to be precise. This is a butterfly neither of us had ever seen before and there is only one place in the West Midlands where you can still find them – Prees Heath in Shropshire. At first sight it’s not the most promising site, being sandwiched between two A roads, but looks can be deceiving. Butterfly Conservation have been working on it to improve the heathland and grassland for the benefit of the wildlife and it has obviously paid off.

The Silver Studded Blue caterpillars feed mainly on heather and Bird’s Foot Trefoil, both of which we saw in abundance today.

It was a dull and cloudy day, so we were a bit sceptical that we’d see any – so were thrilled when we saw first one and eventually probably a dozen or more of these little beauties. The “silver studs” are actually more of a shiny blue, but they are still absolutely gorgeous little butterflies. Whether it was the dull weather, or just their nature, but the ones we saw were surprisingly docile and let us get really close up for photos.

It was a bit of a windy day and the butterflies were blowing about a bit on their heather stems for photography. I did try to video one – here is a very short clip below.

It took a bit longer to get a photo of one with its wings open, but eventually one obliged.

The Silver Studded Blues have an interesting life cycle that involves their caterpillars being taken into ants nests by the ants and tended to by their hosts, who in turn get a sugary solution from the caterpillars. The female butterflies deliberately choose sites near the ants to lay their eggs. Not sure if the photo below is the right kind of ant nest, but there were certainly plenty of them about.

We only saw two non-blue butterflies the whole time we were there. We got a few non-brilliant photos of them and I’d assumed at the time that they were Meadow Browns. But when we got home and looked at the photos properly, I started to get excited that they might be Small Heaths, a butterfly we’d never knowingly seen before. Thanks once more to the good people of the Facebook butterfly group, this has now been confirmed. This means we ticked off two brand new species for our butterfly checklist today – fantastic!

Once we’d had our fill of taking photos of the blue butterflies (several hundred photos later!) we could take in some of the other wildlife around us. Prees Heath is known to have Skylarks and we could hear lots of what we think were these increasingly rare birds all around us. We saw them a few times high in the sky above the heather, singing their hearts out. Mostly they were way too high to get a photo of, but I did manage this poor shot of one hovering – at least I think it’s a skylark!

The area was full of large black birds – I think Crows. They let me get quite close, probably because they were big enough and tough enough not to be bothered by a little woman like me!

The whole heath is riddled with rabbit burrows – you have to be quite careful where you walk not to twist an ankle. The rabbits of course were not as bold as the crows, but I did eventually get one bunny to sit still long enough to get his portrait taken.

So our trip today was not only a triumph, but double the success we had hoped for – two brand new species for the price of one – Silver Studded Blue and Small Heath! I doubt we’ll have many butterfly expeditions that will be this successful.

And finally today’s weed for 30 Lazy Weeds from our garden – the dandelion look alike. I think it’s either a Catsear or a Hawkweed. Whichever it is, it is clearly very popular with the garden flies. Flies may not be the most charismatic of our garden insects, but they are all food for something, so fine by me. The yellow Catsear or Hawkweed is brightening up the un-mowed areas of our so called lawn and if the flies are happy with it, so are we.

30 Days Wild – Day 18

June 18, 2016February 26, 2025 / nrowberry / Leave a comment

TWT 30 Days Wild_countdown_18 Day 18 of 30 Days Wild and we’re Malvern bound as the car is in for its MOT, so no grand excursions today! So I decided to spend a bit of time in the garden and review how my “wildflower meadow” was progressing. Meadow is probably a bit of an exaggeration as it is very small – more of a meadowlet on what used to be one of our veg patches.

Back in March this is what the old veg patch looked like. We were rubbish at growing veg as we didn’t water or weed regularly enough, so we figured we might as well turn the patch into something more wildlife friendly.

And this is what it looks like today. Shame it wasn’t a sunnier morning for photographs, but it’s amazing what a difference a few short months have made.

The “meadow” is still maturing – some flowers are at their peak and fully open, while others are still a way off. I’m not great on flower ID, but even worse when the flowers aren’t actually out and I’ve only got leaves to go on. So I’m not sure of all the species we’ve got. But here are a few I can manage. The first is the Bladder Campion with its unusual “swollen” flowers. This is supposed to attract froghoppers, although I’ve not actually seen any on it. It’s fragrance is apparently stronger in the evening and attracts moths – I must check it one night.

I think the next is Phacelia, which as you can see is already attracting plenty of bees.

The Poached Egg Plant is a real cheery addition to the meadow. I bought this as I read on someone else’s blog (sorry I can’t remember who, but thank you whoever you were!) that it was particularly good for hoverflies. Not seen that many of them on it yet, but it’s only just come into flower and the weather’s not been great since then, but hopefully it will live up to its promise soon.

The corn chamomile has spread and formed a large patch which has been attracting hoverflies. Sod’s law being what it was though there weren’t any on it this morning – but if you sow it they will come!

The Borage is looking good and just starting to open its flowers and will hopefully be pulling in the bees soon.

The next two haven’t really opened up yet, but I think they are a Cornflower and some kind of Poppy.

The Nasturtium wasn’t really planted as part of the meadow, but I’ve left them there as they’re good for insects too. We had a go at companion planting with them a few years ago and as they tend to produce masses of seeds, they’ve been popping up everywhere since!

There are a few other things poking up through the meadow, but I’ll have to wait until they hopefully flower to work out what they are. I’m really pleased with the results so far though, so much better than a scruffy, ill-maintained veg plot!

And finally weed No. 18 in my 30 Lazy Garden Weeds is this Poppy. They are so delicate and ephemeral – each flower lasting barely a day, but that makes them all the more special. They pop up everywhere from cracks in the drive to the flower beds and remaining veg plot. Collecting seeds from their rattly seed heads reminds me of childhood – not that there’s really any need to collect the seeds – they’re doing a pretty good job of seeding themselves!

30 Days Wild – Day 17

June 17, 2016February 26, 2025 / nrowberry / 1 Comment

Day 17 of 30 Days Wild and it’s Friday again! It started off dull and grey, but by early afternoon the sun was out and the weekend beckoned. It felt like a great start to the weekend when I spotted this Large Skipper before I’d even left work – the benefits of working on an organic farm!

I decided to stop off at one of the local nature reserves on the way home – Brotheridge Green, which was once part of an old railway line. I’ve been there a few times before, but this was the first visit for 2016. The reserve is basically a long narrow strip, formed from the railway cutting at one end and a railway embankment at the other. It’s always been great for butterflies and is another place that is really secluded and makes you feel like you’re the only one who knows about it! At the cutting end the path is bordered both sides by trees and wildflowers. As usual I could hear loads of birds, but my lack of birdsong skills meant I’d no idea what (apart from a pair of Bullfinches that I did actually see).

There were a few butterflies here in the sunny patches. A Speckled Wood, a Red Admiral and some kind of white – it may have been a Green-Veined but I didn’t get a good look at the underside to be sure.

There was the usual abundance of buttercups, cow parsley and what might have been Giant Hogweed (I gave it a wide berth just in case!), but also Deadly Nightshade – I gave that a wide berth too!

As the cutting opened up into the embankment, I got lovely views of the Malvern Hills. I also freaked out two squirrels (greys of course) who raced ahead of me in the trees. At one point it felt like I was herding squirrels, as every time I moved forward so did they.

The wider grassy strip here has always been particularly good for butterflies (I’ve seen Marbled Whites here before, but think I was a week or two too early today). And today I was rewarded with my first Meadow Browns of the year. There must have been half a dozen of them fluttering about in the late afternoon sunshine.

As I turned back, I spotted a flash of red in the grass – I think it was a 6 Spot Burnet Moth, although I can’t be sure as it was at an odd angle.

The final insect treat of the walk was this amazing hoverfly that looked just like a bumblebee. I’ve since found out that it is Volucella bombylans var. plumata – there are apparently 2 variations of this bumblebee mimicking hoverfly, the one I found with a white tail and one with an orange tail – amazing creatures.

So today was a day of butterflies. It was great to see 5 species of butterfly in one afternoon – don’t think I’ve seen that many since last year. It bodes well for the summer months to come!

And finally week 17 in my 30 Lazy Garden Weeds – The Grape Hyacinth. Not sure this would be classed as a weed, but they certainly grow like a weed in our garden. In early spring they seem to be everywhere. I always think they look particularly good in the evenings, they almost seem to glow. The bees of course absolutely love them and they must be a significant source of nectar for them early on in the year.

30 Days Wild – Day 16

June 16, 2016February 26, 2025 / nrowberry / Leave a comment

Day 16 of 30 Days Wild and I didn’t really have any idea of what I was going to do today. But as I got home from work a thunder storm started and I thought great, I can do a mean and moody storm post. The thunder was rumbling and the rain was pelting down, as I dashed about the house grabbing camera and sound recorder. Of course being the fickle thing that British weather is, it all stopped pretty much the second I stepped out the back door. The sun even came out, ruining my mean and moody plans!

So I decided to switch to Plan B and photograph my little area of “meadow” that I’d planted earlier this year. Although it was now sunny all the plants were of course looking soggy and a bit limp. I was struck though at how quickly the bees reappeared once the rain had stopped. Within minutes the soggy flowers were buzzing again with all manner of bees. Most of the bees looked dry and fluffy, like a bee should. They must have been sheltering somewhere during the downpour. But if there was a wet bee contest, I think this poor mite would win hands down. I couldn’t even tell what species it was, he was so bedraggled. Don’t know why he hadn’t had the sense to find shelter like the rest of them, but his bad hair day didn’t seem to stop him getting the nectar!

Feeling inspired by the bees (both wet and dry) I thought I’d move on to Plan C – lots of nice bee shots after the rain. Again the weather intervened and it started drizzling – not enough for my moody storm post but enough to spoil any bee photography. Feeling in a bee kind of mind now though, I decided to check on my bee species tally for the year. I realised we’d now recorded 21 species of bee in the garden this year already. I’d blogged about bees previously when we’d reached 12 species, but hadn’t done an update since. So Plan D – today’s post is really an update on the remaining 9 species of bee from our garden to date. Should anyone want to read the original post on bees 1 to 12, you can find it here: https://toolazytoweed.uk/2016/04/13/bumblebee-bonanza/

So bee No. 13 was Gooden’s Nomad Bee (Nomada goodeniana). This striking looking bee actually looks more like a wasp with its black and yellow abdomen. All the Nomada bees are parasitic on other bee species – they lay eggs in the hosts nest and their grubs then destroy the host’s eggs and eat the food. So not quite the adorable image of a classic bee!

Next up bee No. 14 is the Red Mason Bee (Osmia bicornis). This one nests in pre-existing holes in walls, old wood, stems etc. and is supposedly a common one to make use of “bee hotels” – I’m not aware any having made use of ours though. They use wet mud to create cells for their grubs in these holes, which is presumably why they’re called Mason bees.

No 15. is a Blood Bee of the genus Sphecodes. I think they are so named because of the blood red abdomen, rather than any gruesome blood sucking habits. Having said that they are also parasitic, but I guess no-one is perfect! There are apparently lots of species of Sphecodes and they are not only very small, but very difficult to identify to species level just from a photo, so I can’t pinpoint the exact one without capturing it,

Bee No. 16 is the Orange Tailed Mining Bee (Andrena haemorrhoa). You can just about see the orange hairs at the end of its abdomen in the photo. We had a lot of these in the garden, burrowing into the dry ground around the strawberries.

Bee No. 17 is the Common Mourning Bee (Melecta albifrons). This medium sized dark bee (I think they’re called mourning bees because they’re mainly black) is yet another parasitic one. We had quite a few feeding on the rosemary. You can’t really tell from the photo, but one of its identifying features is its white knees!

Bee No. 18 is the Buffish Mining Bee (Andrena nigroaenea). I love the fact that someone decided to call it Buffish rather than just Buff! I only saw this species once and fortunately happened to have the camera with me at the time. This species mainly nests in bare ground, although it will sometimes nest in soft mortar in walls – I hope this isn’t a sign that our garage wall here is crumbling!

Bee No. 19 is the Garden Bumblebee (Bombus hortorum). This is a social bumblebee nesting in small colonies – at last a bee on this list that fits my “adorable bee” stereotype! These are particularly common in the garden right now.

Bee No. 20 is Barbut’s Cuckoo Bee (Bombus barbutellus). This one looks very much like the Garden Bumblebee above and for a good reason – it is a social parasite of the poor Garden Bumblebee – laying its eggs in the nest and allowing the host to feed and raise its grubs – real cuckoo behaviour!

And finally Bee No. 21 the Patchwork Leafcutter Bee (Megachile centuncularis). Not easy to get a good photo like that so we caught it (I feel guilty we made him drop his leaf!) to get a better one. Unfortunately as soon as we opened the pot it flew off, so this was the best we could do. You can at least see the thick orange pollen brushes on its abdomen.

So those are the nine bees which, with those in the earlier post, make up the full 21 species from the garden. I must admit I am really pleased that our little garden has attracted so many species. There may well be more – I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a few others, but either not been able to get a photo, or they’ve been too difficult to ID without dissection (which I don’t want to do). Just goes to show what providing a variety of habitats and nectar sources can do for your bee biodiversity!

30 Days Wild – Day 15

June 15, 2016 / nrowberry / 3 Comments

Day 15 of 30 Days Wild and we’re half way through already! Today was a first for me – a Moth Breakfast! Fortunately the only thing that was actually consumed was a very nice Pain au Chocolat, but the moth demonstration was also excellent. Herefordshire Wildlife Trust had organised the moth breakfast and had put moth traps out the night before to give us a taste of what can be found on a typical night. By typical night it turns out that meant a bit of a wet one, but there were still plenty of moths to look at. I think about 12 of us turned up and were privileged to get the benefit of two moth aficionados for a couple of hours.

The breakfast was held at Herefordshire Wildlife Trust’s Headquarters on the edge of Hereford next to Lugg Meadows. A gorgeous old building (second oldest in Hereford apparently) in a beautiful setting.

The contents of various moth traps were examined avoiding the rain under a bright orange gazebo – hence the slight orange hue to some of my photos! Our two experts talked us through the moths and were really helpful answering all our questions. I’d really recommend going to one of these events if you want to get a taster of what moth trapping is all about. The photo below shows the abundance of moths found just on the tea towel that was used to cover the trap – let alone those that were actually inside it. Just about visible are Elephant Hawkmoth, Peppered Moth, Heart and Dart and Small Magpies.

Other highlights were this gorgeous shiny Burnished Brass (my photo doesn’t do his glossy sheen justice – I blame the orange reflection from the awning!!)

Also this stunning Leopard Moth (top), Buff Tip and Blood Vein (bottom).

The undoubted headliners though had to be the Hawkmoths – in particular for me the Poplar Hawkmoths, as I haven’t managed to trap any of those in the garden yet this year.

There were several other species in the traps that I’ve never seen at all and I could feel moth envy taking over. Ghost Moths, Dog’s Tooth, Oak Hook Tip – I can but dream of catching these in the garden!

Once we’d finished oohing and ahhing over the moths, I decided to go for a walk. The Trust sits at the edge of Lugg Meadows – ancient meadows that date back to the time of Domesday. It would have seemed rude not to have a walk around while I was there. They are rich in plantlife – I love the way the plantlife is so rich it is partly obscuring the Plantlife information board!

Lugg Meadows are famous for their Snake’s Head Fritillaries. Of course I was too late in the year to see those, but there was plenty else to admire. As with yesterday’s walk along the River Severn at Upton, today I was tormented by House Martin’s swooping past me hunting for insects. Once again they were so close and yet so far in terms of getting a decent photograph – believe it or not the dark blob in the middle of the photo below is the closest I got to capturing a pic of one!

The River Lugg itself is for me a reminder of childhood. I grew up in Bodenham close to the Lugg and remember sunny days spent mucking about in the water down by the church. I’ve had a soft spot for the Lugg ever since – the River Severn is all very magnificent and grand, but the lazy Lugg suits me better.

The trees along this section of the river show a clear flood line marking where the muddy water must have reached during the last floods. It is several feet above the current river level, showing how much this normally placid water must swell during flood conditions.

The river banks were aflutter with Banded Demoiselles, so of course I couldn’t resist taking yet more photos – they are just so photogenic, I wish my skills did them justice.

While walking back I spotted a few snails that I’d never seen before. I think they are Amber Snails – assuming they are, these snails are common in damp meadows – which these certainly were today.

And finally as I got back to the Trust HQ I spotted these pretty little fungi growing in a pile of wood cuttings. They were pale and ethereal, glistening in the rain. No idea what species they were, but they looked like they were out of some kind of imaginary fairy kingdom.

Thank you to the Herefordshire Wildlife Trust for a really great morning. It’s got me all fired up for more moth hunting and for a trip back to Lugg Meadows next year to see the Snake’s Head Fritillaries.

And to finish off as always the latest weed from my garden for 30 Lazy Garden Weeds – this time the Petty Spurge. These little green flowers pop up all over the garden, but particularly for some reason on our drive (I call it a drive, but you can barely squeeze a car onto it!) I presume the Petty bit is so called because it is small rather than petty minded. I like the unusual formation of the flowers – a sort of deconstructed flower arrangement!

30 Days Wild – Day 14

June 14, 2016 / nrowberry / 1 Comment

Embrace the rain! I decided that was my motto for today – Day 14 of 30 Days Wild. I got soaked at work about 3 times and the clouds were looking ominous over the Malvern Hills as I set off for home. So I decided rather than avoid it, I would just go for a walk in the rain. I can’t remember when I last did that (not sure I ever have)? Of course I’ve been for walks and got caught in downpours, but that’s not the same as deliberately setting out to walk in the rain. It was quite liberating in a way, knowing you are going to get wet, so no point trying to avoid it.

Having decided on a watery walk, I figured I might as well take the wet and wild theme a step further and walk along the river. Since I work on the edge of Upton on Severn this wasn’t a difficult thing to achieve. It wasn’t a long walk, but I really did enjoy it. Even in the rain there was plenty to enjoy and take photographs of – spoiler alert – there is some serious cuteness at the end of this blog!

The rain was pretty much non-stop as I walked – not torrential, but definitely constant. I loved watching the rain falling on the river and the tiny concentric circles emanating from each droplet. It was quite hypnotic and had there been somewhere to sit without getting a wet bum, I could have watched for ages.

The first wildlife I saw was a swan the other side of the river, pulling leaves off the overhanging bushes. It was a bit far away to get a decent photo, but at least it is recognisable as a swan!

I hadn’t really expected to see much in the way of insect life today, but this bee had found this patch of foxgloves and was as busy as ever. Whether he was really after the nectar or just using the foxgloves as walk in umbrellas though I don’t know.

There were lots of House Martins swooping low over the river, presumably catching insects over the water. They were virtually impossible to photograph as they were just too quick. The best I managed is a (very) brief glimpse of them in this video flying past a duck that was progressing more sedately down the river.

A wagtail kept me company on the walk, tail bobbing up and down as it searched for insects (or possibly for food dropped by the riverside pub customers!) Shame that in the only half decent photo I got of him, he was standing on what looks like astro-turf rather than somewhere more scenic!

But of course it was the ducks that were really the stars of my watery walk. There were a few cruising up and down the river – I love the bow wave that has formed around this one as he paddles serenely up stream.

Quite a few though were just sitting on the bank – although it was supposedly “nice weather for ducks” today, they didn’t actually look that happy about it.

I think these were all Mallards – they may be common ducks, but the colours on the males in particular are absolutely stunning.

I was just starting to head back to the car, when a group of people peering over the edge of the river wall waved me over. Baby ducklings – what can I say, but serious cuteness overload! There were 5 in total, paddling about with their Mum. I could easily have loaded dozens of photos of them here, but have restricted myself to just the two.

I couldn’t resist trying to video them as well. They may only be small, but they’ve clearly got the hang already of rummaging about in the weeds for food.

I’d guessed that I’d probably see ducks today in the rain; but to find ducklings was better than I could have hoped for – the perfect end to my walk.

And finally the latest weed in my 30 Lazy Garden weeds is Ivy. Beautiful glossy leaves, covering up our ugly fence – evergreen, so brightening up the area all year round. Ivy is particularly good for insects, providing not only cover and homes, but the flowers provide much needed nectar when there’s little else around. Moths of course absolutely love Ivy – so for that reason alone it would get my vote!

30 Days Wild – Day 13

June 13, 2016February 26, 2025 / nrowberry / 1 Comment

Day 13 and it’s Monday – never the most inspiring day of the week and today was a wet one to boot. So I was wondering what to do for 30 Days Wild to lift the spirits. On the way home I pass an open area that is basically just a very wide verge along the side of the road. As the sun finally came out at this point, I stopped to take a look. We went butterfly spotting here last year as it attracts a lot of species – Marbled Whites, Small Coppers, Blues, Skippers etc. So I hoped it might have something today too. It may not have been the perfect weather, but the area was buzzing with life.

Malvern Council thankfully don’t cut the long grass here (apart from a stretch right next to the road) until after the summer, so there are lots of flowers and insects. Yellow Rattle (below) was a common plant, with lots red and white clover, buttercups and even an orchid.

The first insect I spotted was an old favourite – the Seven Spot Ladybird (although it did seem to have a couple of extra spots down one side strangely).

The cornflowers were all full of ants – you can just about make them out in the middle of the photo below.

The cow parsley was particularly popular with the insects – like this large yellow sawfly and several day flying moths below.

The clover and yellow rattle were particularly popular with the bees.

This elongated beetle was a new one for me – it is a Click Beetle. Apparently they make a clicking noise when disturbed. It’s probably a good job I didn’t realise this at the time or I might have been tempted to disturb the poor thing to get a click!

Each step I took through the grass seemed to produce movement as crickets leapt out of the way of my big feet. I find them really hard to take photos of, as they always seem to swivel around bits of grass so they are at the opposite side! But I finally found one whose legs seemed to be almost too long for him – he seemed to be struggling to control his gangly limbs, which made him easier to photograph. I’ve since learnt that he (or she) is probably a Roesel’s Bush Cricket.

Of all the insects I saw this afternoon, the one group that was a bit under-represented was the butterflies – perhaps the sun just hadn’t warmed things up enough. I only saw one in the time I was there – a Large Skipper. It was of course too fast for my slow Monday legs to catch, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

So in the half hour I spent wandering around the verge (getting strange looks from the drivers going by no doubt) I saw a huge variety of insects – ladybirds, ants, beetles, crickets, moths, bees, sawflies and one butterfly! That half hour also revived my flagging Monday spirits and all from a roadside verge! It just shows what a benefit letting verges grow can be for wildlife. I know there are campaigns now to encourage councils to do just that and I couldn’t agree more.

And finally as always the latest weed from our garden for my 30 Lazy Garden Weeds – The Scarlet Pimpernel. The flower itself is small, delicate and very pretty, but what I really like is the glorious name. Memories of cheesy movies – and the rhyme “The seek him here, they seek him there…” I don’t know about being elusive, but the flower is certainly easily overlooked, but well worth looking out for.

30 Days Wild – Day 12

June 12, 2016 / nrowberry / 4 Comments

Day 12 of 30 Days Wild and it’s been all about the moths. This weekend has been the annual Moth Night (which slightly confusingly has run for 3 nights) – a celebration of all things mothy. The theme of this year’s Moth Night was Hawkmoths, so I was really hoping I’d get some in the traps.

I had both moth traps out last night and was up at 4am this morning to empty them before the robin beat me to it. The last 2 days I’ve been pretty much eyeball to eyeball with this robin as he has clearly learnt that moth traps provide easy pickings! I only have to turn around for a second and he’s there sitting on the edge of the trap, peering in. If only he could tell me their names, he’d be a big help!

I’d run one trap on Friday night as usual for my weekly Garden Moth Scheme count. So I could use those numbers for Moth Night too – great when the data can be used for 2 schemes at once!

Last night though I put the other trap out as well (I can only use the wooden one for the Garden Moth Scheme) to try and maximise my haul for Moth Night. Fortunately the rain held off last night until about 5:30am, by which time I had collected all the moths ready to photograph at a more civilised hour.

I’ve spent a large part of today identifying the moths I’d photographed this morning and yesterday. I’ve no idea yet how other moth trappers got on, but I was pretty pleased with my total count of 174 moths of 41 species over the 2 days. Interestingly the number of traps didn’t make much difference – I got 27 species the first night with one trap and 29 last night with the 2 traps.

I was really chuffed to get 2 species of Hawkmoth – the Elephant (on the left below) and the Small Elephant (on the right obviously!). We get the bigger one quite often in June and the small one less frequently. It would have been nice to get some of the other big hawkmoths too, but that’s the way it goes.

The dominant species in terms of sheer numbers was the Heart and Dart, which accounted for about a third of the total number of individuals. I love the way many of the moths are named – the Heart & Dart is so called because it has dark markings shaped like a heart and a dart! It does what it says on the tin!

The other numerous moth in the trap was a micro one – the Diamond Back Moth – named for its diamond shaped pattern on its back! This tiny moth is actually an immigrant and they’ve been blown over to the UK in recent weeks in huge numbers – they even got a mention on Springwatch.

The Diamond Back wasn’t the only incomer, I also trapped a Silver Y moth each night – again named for the silvery Y shape on its wing. The Silver Y is one of the more famous immigrants in the moth world and even got recorded as part of the Big Butterfly Count last year.

Moths can generally be split into Macro and Micro moths. I tend to prefer the Macro ones because not only are they bigger, but they are usually easier to identify. This weekend brought some particularly impressive ones. The Scarlet Tiger is so bright and colourful it is often mistaken for a butterfly. They regularly fly in sunshine, but this one came to the trap at the weekend.

The Puss Moth and Pale Tussock are two other large species that turned up for Moth Night. I love the way the Puss sits with its front legs stretched out ahead.

I was really pleased to find this next moth in the trap this morning as I’d only ever seen it in the books before – the Figure of 80 – so named because it looks like someone’s written 80 on each of its wings!

Although the Micro moths are obviously smaller and so generally harder to ID, many of them are really quite stunning when you look at them close up, like this Cherry Bark Moth (top) and Barred Marble (below). They’re both probably less than a centimetre long, but there’s such detail in their colouring.

So that’s Moth Night over for another year. Hopefully they will have had lots of results submitted from all over the country and it will have raised the profile of moths generally. I really enjoy taking part in projects like this; it’s great sharing the photos on social media and seeing what all the other moth-ers around the country are getting in their traps.

For more info have a look at their website: http://www.mothnight.info/www/

Weed no. 12 in my 30 Lazy Weeds from the garden and it’s the Buttercup. One of our most iconic flowers, that even children will recognise. Most kids will have tried the old custom where you hold a buttercup under your chin and if it reflects yellow, it means you like butter. Of course all it really proves is that the buttercup’s petals reflect light very well, but that’s not quite so romantic a thought! Maybe it is that old custom though, as buttercups hold an innocent charm for me that few of the other flowers do.

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Too Lazy To Weed

The not so ordinary wildlife of an ordinary (but scruffy) garden

30 Days Wild