This blog is intended as a gallery of photos for all moths found in the county of Kent. Please send through your quality images (and links to your websites) of moth species caught yesterday or yesteryear in order that this can become a complete archive of Kent's moth fauna.
Peppered Moth - A fairly common and well distributed moth, but one that I always enjoy seeing.
Of interest I caught another Toadflax Brocade on the night of Sunday 20th June, the second one here this year.
Sunday, 20 June 2010
One of the most attractive of the day flying grassland moths, the Burnet Companion is more a neighbour of Blues and Dingy Skippers on the cliffs at Langdon. This one was taken on June 8th.
After Steve's picture of a female, I thought I'd add a picture of the male, since it looks so different. As the largest member of the Swift family in the UK it is strange species, having no mouth parts and therefore not able to feed as an adult insect. This one was caught on June 10th 2009, although I did catch a male on June 18th this year (but didn't photograph it)
There haven't been many good nights mothing this year, at St Margaret's, especially for geometers, but the 5th of June wasn't bad (a warm night for a change). It likes chalky habitats and the caterpillars feed on Travellers Joy.
Slightly lager than a common Carpet, and always looking as if it is faded, the Silver-ground Carpet can been disturbed in woodland clearing in the day, but mainly flies at night. I caught this one in the garden on June 5th.
Another of the grassland day-flying moths the diminutive Small Purple-barred is surprisingly a macro of the Noctuidae Family. This one was flying at Langdon, Dover, in April.
Two Rannock Loopers at St Margaret's on 18/6/2010, subtly different to each other, but I think they are both males, as the females have much stronger cross lines.
"Trapped last night at Biddenden. Ghost Moth is surprisingly scarce in the garden (this female was only the second site record). It is common at Sissinghurst."Steve Broyd
"I missed out during last year's influx of Rannoch Looper so was very pleased to catch this specimen last night - the 427th species of macro moth at this site in just seven seasons. The strong NE winds presumably pushed it this way. There must be others out there" Steve Broyd
'Two moths from last night. Sycamore and Scarce Merveille du Jour. The latter is a Red Data Book species and is resident in Hamstreet and Orlestone Woods, and is almost an annual visitor to the garden.' Bernard Boothroyd