Meet the Moths!

We had a good group in today for Foxglove's 'Meet the Moths!' event. Thankfully moths were caught in the trap despite last night's weather.

Amongst the magnificent moths caught in the trap was this Canary-shouldered Thorn, whose larvae feed on a variety of deciduous trees, and which flies from July to October.

We also had this Silver Y, complete with the very distinctive Y-shaped patterning from which it got its name. A very common UK immigrant, the caterpillar of this moth feed on a wide range of low-growing plants, including bedstraws (Galium sp.), Clovers (Trifolium sp.), Common Nettle (Urtica dioica), Garden Pea (Pisum sativum) and Cabbage (Brassica oleracea).

On a walk around the site a Buff-tip caterpillar was spotted munching away on Willow…

And keeping with Lepidopteran news, the Reserve has been inundated with Speckled Wood butterflies.